Roses In Ink
by Imbal45
Summary: In Illea, birth defines what you can do with your life. It doesn't matter if you like your lot in life, chances that you'll be able to change it are slim. Even from one of the most powerful places in the world, Prince Elijah still finds himself trapped in a life he didn't want by the simple fact of his birth. And it's about to get worse. It's time for a Selection. SYOC (20/20)
1. Chapter 1

The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, Angeles, June 7th, 7am

Elijah

The floor was almost completely covered in little pieces of shredded paper. That had been Eli's work. He had been doing this for nearly seven hours… He glanced up at the clock on the wall. No, seven hours exactly now. He cut the last piece of the picture he was holding into multiple pieces, and dropped the pieces, watching them flutter to the floor.

He set the scissors down, and reached for the bottle of scotch. At some point during the night he had switched to drinking it straight out of the bottle, instead of pouring it into a glass. He couldn't remember when, but it didn't matter now. He took another drink. It had ceased to burn at all going down. He set the bottle down again, and reached for the scissors and another not yet mangled photograph.

Some fucking great birthday this was. Well, it wasn't actually his birthday anymore, hadn't been for seven hours, but the day before had been fantastically lousy too. The only good thing he had gotten out of it was the bottle of scotch he was drinking from.

He scowled, and started to cut the photograph into tiny pieces. He didn't want a single trace of her left in his life. The paper littering the floor was evidence of that. Photographs, sketches, notes, every reminder of her that he could cut and tear into little pieces was scattered across his bedroom floor.

They said you were supposed to be over it after a year. They obviously lied, whoever they were. He dropped the handful of pieces of the photograph to the floor, and reached for the bottle of scotch again. He was supposed to be over her, right?

But tomorrow it would be exactly a year, and he wasn't fucking over her. He set the bottle down again, and shielded his eyes from the early morning light coming in through the uncovered window, reaching for another photograph.

Maybe someone dying was a little bit different than a breakup. Maybe that was why it still hurt so bad. Breakups usually involved hard feelings. Death… Death was different. She had been ripped away from him, just as he thought they were going to start building the life they always dreamed of together. He reached for the bottle again, and took another long drink.

He didn't pick up the scissors and photograph again, instead pulling his knees up to his chest, and resting his head against his knees, trying desperately not to break down. He hadn't cried at all, not since she had died. He wasn't about to start now.

The door to his room opened, but he didn't glance up, too busy biting the inside of his cheek, hoping pain would prevent the tears from falling.

"Your father wants to see you."

Eli glanced up at Matthias, his valet, hoping the fact that he was on the verge of tears wasn't obvious. "Tell him I'll come see him this afternoon. He can wait a few hours. But don't tell him I said he can wait."

"He wants to see you for dinner tonight at six." Matthias glanced around the room. "What have you been doing in here?" He didn't sound judgemental, just confused about why there were shredded fragments of paper all over the floor of Eli's bedroom.

Eli shrugged, not saying anything. He didn't want to talk about it.

Matthias raised his eyebrows. "Okay. Have you slept?"

Eli shook his head, reaching for the bottle of scotch again. "Nope."

Matthias sighed, and crossed the room, kicking paper out of the way. "Elijah, it's seven in the morning." Eli had tried, over and over again, but the most informality he had been able to get Matthias to agree to was addressing him by his full first name. He held out a hand for the bottle. "You need to go to bed."

Eli took another drink from the bottle. "Uh-uh. Not done yet." He picked up another photograph, setting the bottle down to do so.

Matthias scooped up the bottle as soon as Eli set it down. "Well, I'm taking this then. And if you don't go to bed, I'm going to dump it."

Eli brutally cut into the photograph he was holding. "You can't dump it. That was a birthday present."

"Watch me."

"I'm your boss. I'm ordering you not to dump that out, and give it back to me this second."

"I'm also supposed to protect you, which includes protecting you from yourself, which means I can't let you drink yourself to death, and if I did, I'd be out of a job." He moved towards the bathroom, bottle in hand.

Eli sighed. "No, no, don't dump it, that's good scotch. I'm going to bed." He dropped the scissors and partly cut up photograph to the floor, and stood up, swaying slightly on his feet. He grabbed onto the nearby dresser to stabilize himself.

Matthias continued into the bathroom anyway, and Eli could hear the sound of liquid being poured down the drain. "Hey, you said you wouldn't dump it if I went to bed," he called out.

Matthias returned to the bedroom. "Never said that. I know if I don't dump it you'll go back to drinking as soon as I leave."

Eli scowled, but didn't deny it. He released his hold on the dresser, and made his way to bed, stumbling slightly. He pushed back the blankets, and crawled beneath them. "I'm in bed. Happy now?"

"Very." Matthias moved around the room, shutting the curtains, and turning the lights off. "I'll be back in a moment with water and aspirin for when you wake up." He turned, and left the room, leaving the door slightly open.

Eli made an affirmative noise, and rolled onto his side, pulling the blankets up slightly. Finally he could no longer resist the tears that were threatening to fall. He cried near silently, ashamed and angry with himself for not being able to hold out. A year of managing not to break down, and all it took was one late night and half a bottle of scotch?

Matthias came back into the room, and left a glass of water and a few pills on the bedside table. He had to have noticed that Eli was crying, but he didn't say a word, just slipped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Eli cried himself to sleep, and woke up nine hours later to Matthias shaking him awake. He shifted slightly, rolling onto his back, and blinking sleepily up at Matthias. The lights were off, and the curtains were still closed, which Eli was grateful for, because his head was pounding.

"I hate to wake you up, but you're expected for dinner in two hours."

Eli groaned, sitting up and massaging his temples. "Wha'?"

"I told you this morning. Your father would like to see you for dinner."

Eli groaned again, cradling his head in his hands. He had fuzzy memories of the night, or morning, before, of cutting up pictures of her and drinking half a bottle of scotch, then crying himself to sleep, and if those memories were to be trusted, he was in no shape to go to dinner with his father. Emotionally, or, with the pounding headache and nausea that came with a hangover, physically.

He lifted his head tentatively, just in time to see Matthias opening the curtains. He immediately raised a hand to shield his eyes from the light. "God, Matthias, don't do that."

Matthias just shrugged. "You've got to get up."

"I will, I just need a minute. Close those again please." He sighed, and buried his face in his hands. If his memories were correct, Matthias had seen him cry. Which was fucking humiliating. Eli never cried.

Matthias didn't comment, instead closing the curtains as requested. Eli reached for the glass of water, and took a tentative sip. It probably wasn't going to do any good, as Eli was pretty sure he was going to end up puking sometime in the next two hours, but it helped with the dry mouth. He took another sip, set the glass aside, and pushed back the blankets.

God, he needed a shower. He smelled like booze. He moved towards the bathroom, waving Matthias away. "I'm getting up, I swear. You can go."

He headed into the bathroom to start getting ready. He took most of the two hours getting ready, an unnecessarily large portion of it spent in the shower.

He dressed, more formally than he had been the night before, and started heading towards his father's private quarters. He knocked and waited for approval before entering the sitting room his father normally took his meals in.

Approval came quickly, and he opened the door and headed in. His father was already seated at a table in the middle of the room, buttering a roll. "You're late."

Eli plunked down in the chair across the table from him. "Two minutes."

"How was your birthday party yesterday?"

Eli shrugged, and took a sip of the already filled glass of water sitting at his place at the table. It had been a lousy birthday, full of reminders of what had been almost exactly a year ago, but the party had been fine. If you liked to celebrate your birthday by getting shitfaced with a shit ton of people you barely knew. That wasn't Eli's personal idea of fun, but he knew better than to tell his father that.

Unperturbed by Eli's silence, his father continued on. "Like any of the girls there?"

Eli shook his head.

His father bit into the roll he had been buttering when Eli had walked in. "We've talked about this, Elijah. That was your last chance to 'Do this on your own'. You're twenty-five, and you haven't found a wife."

Eli knew exactly what he was getting at, but didn't feel like responding. He just waited for him to continue, and doom Eli to his fate. A loveless marriage with a girl who was the best of a lot of bad options.

"It's time you got down to your duties as crown prince and had a selection. I was willing to consider your little experiment for a while, but it hasn't produced any results, and your time is up, son."

Hadn't produced results? He felt like standing up and screaming in his face that it had, he had found a girl, he had found a future queen, but she was fucking dead now, so a little bit of fucking time would be appreciated.

But that wouldn't do any fucking good, so Eli stayed in his seat, and nodded along.

"I think we'll announce it in about a week, that should give the staff plenty of time to prepare. What do you think, son?"

Eli thought they should announce it never, but that wouldn't be the thing to say, and the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could crawl back in bed and sleep off his pounding headache. "That's fine, I guess."

"Good." A maid came into the room, carrying two plates of food. She set one in front of Eli, and the other in front of his father. He picked up his fork and knife, and began to eat. "That's how I met your mother, you know, through the selection."

Eli thought about commenting on how well that had worked out, since his parents had been divorced since he was a teenager, despite the fact that such a thing was unheard of within the royal family. His mother had been the first out of every queen of Illea to get a divorce. But he didn't say anything. No reason to make his father angry. The sooner he could get away and go back to bed, the better.

He picked up his fork, and started picking at his food, listening to his father reminisce about his own selection. At least he'd get some time off from stressing out about the situation in Dominica if he was going on a bunch of dates, so there was some good in this, he guessed.

Or maybe it'd just be one more thing to stress about.

Probably just one more thing to stress about.

**Thank you so much for reading! If you'd like to submit a girl, see my profile for a form and details on submitting a character. I look forward to seeing all of your girls!**


	2. Chapter 2

_The Dining Room, The Palace, Angeles, June 8th, 8:14am_

_Elijah Langworthy_

As usual, Eli was late for breakfast. He plunked down in the empty seat on his father's left, ignoring the glare he was getting for being late again. To his father's right, Melissa sat, staring down at her plate, pushing her eggs around in silence. Mel sat to her right, munching on some toast and talking animatedly to her nanny. As usual, Mel seemed to be the only member of the family who was actually happy.

Someone put a cup of coffee in front of him, and Eli took a sip, looking down the table to his left. Jenn was sitting next to him, thoroughly absorbed in a textbook, and Charles was next to her, glaring daggers at Eli. He was very tempted to flip him off, but refrained. There were people watching, and being royalty meant you were supposed to be mature and above flipping off your younger brother for looking at you weird. As if.

As usual, the family ate in near complete silence. They only just barely tolerated each other on the best of days. The only person who actually got along with everyone else was Mel. Nobody could hate Mel.

Of course, Dad couldn't let a family meal go by in relative peace. Of course not. As everyone was beginning to finish up breakfast, he said, "I have a family announcement to make."

Eli shrunk down slightly in his seat. He had a feeling he knew exactly what this was going to be about.

"Eli and I talked about it yesterday, and we decided that it's finally time for him to have a selection."

More like Dad had told him that he was going to have a selection without giving him a say in the matter. Eli pretended to be very interested in his coffee cup as every eye at the table turned towards him.

Jenn shut her textbook with a snap, and gave Eli a look that clearly implied that she knew it hadn't been his choice. She was the only one at the table to know about *her*, after all. She didn't say anything, though, which Eli was grateful for.

Charles glared even harder at him. Eli knew that Charles was jealous. Jealous of the time and attention Dad gave Eli. He wanted to tell Charles that he didn't want Dad's attention, that he could have his every action nitpicked for a change, and see if he was still jealous of Eli. But of course, he couldn't tell him that. Dad would be pissed, and Charles wouldn't believe him anyway.

Melissa lit up. "Oh, that's so exciting. I can't wait to meet them all. Are you excited, Eli? I can hardly wait to have a daughter in law."

Eli rolled his eyes, and shoved a slice of toast in his mouth before walking out of the dining room. He was sick of her shit. He knew she was just trying to fill a place she never should have been given, but it still pissed him off. She was three years older than him, for God's sake. She had no business trying to act like his mother.

God, he was so sick of his whole family. Except for Mel. And maybe Jenn.

He wandered the halls for a little while, before making his way back to his room. There was a sketchbook sitting out on the bookshelf. Eli picked it up. That needed to be put away, somewhere his father wouldn't see it if he happened to come into Eli's room.

Instead of putting it away right away, Eli sat down on the bed, and started flipping through the book. There were a lot of missing pages, where he had ripped out sketches of her, but there were still plenty of drawings left. The view from the window of the apartment they had shared in Sonage, three years ago. A drawing of a squirrel who had come up to his bedroom window. A rose, drawn in grey pencil. All the tattoos he had drawn for himself, but never gotten, because according to his father, it wouldn't do for royalty to get tattoos.

He turned another page. The next contained a partially finished sketch of a tree. That had been what he had been working on the day she had…

He flipped past it quickly. The next page was blank. It had been a year, almost exactly, since he had last touched the sketchbook. He almost wanted to look for a pencil, and see if he could still draw at all. But, before he could either decide to find a pencil or put the sketchbook away, Matthias came into the room.

"Your father is looking for you. He wants you to see him in his office."

Eli stood up, and handed Matthias the sketchbook. "Put this away for me please." He had no idea what his father wanted, but it was his father, so it wouldn't be pleasant.

He headed upstairs, and knocked on the door of his father's office. He waited to be told to come in. When he was, he stepped inside.

His father looked up from the papers sitting on the desk, at Eli, as if he hadn't been expecting him for the last ten minutes. "Have a seat." Eli sat, and his father continued. "I want to talk about the selection."

Eli nodded. "Alright."

"We'll be announcing the selection on Friday, the names of the selected two weeks later, and they'll be arriving a week after that."

Eli nodded along, only half listening.

"I've been working with some advisors to prepare a form for the girls to fill out that gives us some idea of what skills they might have to offer the country, and they will be chosen based on their suitability. Mostly twos and threes. Maybe some fours and fives or a six to preserve the illusion that this is still a lottery."

Eli immediately started paying attention again. "Wait, this isn't a lottery?" He had honestly thought it was. Now that he knew, though, of course it wasn't a lottery. There was no way his father could take the chance that Eli would fall for someone 'unsuitable'.

"Of course not. How can we expect to find a decent queen in all the riff raff a lottery would bring in? A bunch of fours, fives, and sixes don't have the skills to be queen. And it's always nice to get someone with useful connections and the like."

"Mom was a four," Eli said defensively.

"And look how that turned out. She obviously didn't have what it takes. The people liked her, but that's about as far as her usefulness went." He shook his head. "Anyway, the Selection has never been a lottery. Never. Every time it's ever been held, the girls were chosen by the previous ruler. Don't tell me you bought into all that crap."

Eli didn't say anything, about either his father's insult to his mother or the new knowledge that the selection wasn't actually a lottery. That boded well for his chances of actually getting along with anyone in the selection. Not. If his father was picking they'd probably all be hideously boring blonde girls with important parents.

His father returned to writing on the sheet of paper. "There's a few things I wanted your input on."

His father actually wanted his input on something? Shocker.

"First off, the age range for the selection. How does eighteen to twenty-six sound?"

"That's fine." Eighteen seemed way way too young for Eli. He remembered being eighteen, and he couldn't imagine marrying anybody at that age. That would have been crazy. He tried not to think about being eighteen. He had been eighteen when he had met *her*.

His father made a note on his paper. "Perfect. You don't care that some of them would be older than you?"

"Nope. Why would I?"

"What about taller than you?" He looked at Eli, as if he couldn't believe he had had such a short child. Eli blamed his mother for that one. He didn't even think she was five feet tall.

"Don't really care. I'm used to girls in heels towering over me."

His father made another note on his paper. "Excellent. That makes things easy. Got a type?"

Eli couldn't help but remember her face, but he forced himself not to think too much about it. He felt surprised his father was even asking what he wanted. Usually he didn't give a shit what Eli wanted. Of course, he was probably just trying to make sure that Eli wasn't terribly unhappy with his choices. "Some variety. Don't want them to all look the same."

His father nodded and made another note. "Of course not. Looks better for the lottery that way too." He scribbled down something else on his paper. "What about a haircut? You should get a haircut before the selection."

Eli shook his head. "Absolutely not." His hair was the one battle he had fought and won, and he wasn't going to back down. He would get a haircut when he decided it was time, not before.

"You look like an idiot, but whatever. Why don't you go see Melissa? She's upset that you walked out at breakfast when she was just trying to be nice."

Eli didn't care to apologize for not wanting her to act like his mother, but it was better than reading through the reports that he knew were sitting on his desk, so he headed off to do it. It took Eli nearly twenty minutes to find the correct sitting room. He just went ahead and walked in, since it wasn't the Women's Room. Melissa was sitting there with a book, and Mel was playing nearby. Surprisingly, Jenn was also there, sitting on a nearby couch, reading the same textbook she had been at breakfast.

Melissa looked up from her book when he came in.

Eli sighed, looking her in the eyes. "I'm sorry for walking out at breakfast." Hopefully that was a good enough apology.

She looked away. "It's okay." She didn't say anything else. He tried to remind himself that she wasn't at fault for trying, and didn't deserve his anger. She wasn't responsible for his father's poor choices.

Mel interrupted his thoughts. "Can you play with me, Eli?"

Eli's expression immediately softened as he turned towards Mel. He hesitated, thinking of all the things he needed to do, but decided that he probably had the time. It had to be lonely, being the only kid in the palace. When he had been her age, a few other advisors who had lived in the palace at that time had had kids his age. "Sure." He sat down on the floor next to her. "What are we playing?"

After a little while, Mel had lessons to do, and Eli had plenty of things he should have been doing. But just as he was about to leave the room, Jenn said, "Hey Eli, can we talk?"

Eli nodded. "Sure. The usual place? Twenty minutes?" She nodded, and he left the room. He took the long way up to the roof so he knew for sure she would get there first. He made his way through a few different secret passageways and servant's corridors.

Jenn was waiting for him when he reached the roof, sitting by the edge with her legs hanging over. He sat down next to her, and waited for her to say something.

It was a few moments before she did. "How are you doing?"

"Fine." He stared out at the gardens, refusing to meet her concerned gaze.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's been a year, right? I'm over it." He didn't sound convincing in the least, even to his own ears.

"Okay then." By her tone he could tell that she knew he was lying, but didn't feel like calling him out on it.

He turned to look at her. "What do you think?"

"Of?"

"The Selection, duh."

"I dunno. Always seemed stupid to me." She turned away from the view to look at him. "What do you think?"

He just shrugged. "I kind of agree with you, really." He nudged her lightly, forcing a playful smile. "Maybe you'll find yourself a girl."

"I think not. I don't care to be executed for treason."

"I wouldn't tell. And if you got caught I wouldn't let them kill you. What kind of brother do you think I am?"

"Not to mention that you and mom are the only ones who know I'm gay."

"Small problems. What are they in the face of true love?"

She shook her head fondly at Eli. "Shut up. I'm not using your selection to find a girlfriend."

Eli shrugged. "Suit yourself. You're welcome to them, though. I don't want a wife either right now."

"I'm sorry."

Eli closed his eyes. "Sorry doesn't bring her back, or get me out of the selection."

"I know. I'm still sorry." She sighed. "You probably have something you should be doing, don't you?"

Eli nodded, opening his eyes. "Yeah. I have a meeting in like, three hours." He stood up. "I'd better go."

She nodded, but didn't say anything else.

He made his way down from the roof, back into the main areas of the palace.

Charles was waiting for him outside the door of his study. "So."

Eli really didn't want a fight. He tried to get past him, but Charles moved to block him. He sighed. Apparently Charles wanted a fight. "So what?" He wasn't angry, just annoyed that Charles was trying to start shit.

"So you get everything. As usual."

"Yup." There was no point to getting angry with Charles, he didn't know what it was he was asking for here. He didn't have clue what Eli's job was really like. He just saw that people paid attention to Eli and he wanted that for himself.

Charles didn't move, just glared at him.

Eli sighed. "I have work to do. You're literally blocking me from doing the work I need to do. Can you please get out of my way?"

Charles looked at him for a long moment, before moving, letting Eli get inside his study. He made to step inside. Eli didn't know what for, probably to yell at him out of the view of the servants, but Eli slammed the door in his face.

Eli sat down in his desk chair, burying his face in his hands. For once he hadn't felt like fighting with his brother. And of course he wanted to fight, the one time Eli didn't.

He tried to focus on work, but it was pretty much a lost cause. About five minutes after Eli had given up on accomplishing anything, Micah walked into the room. He ignored the available chair, instead moving a stack of papers out of the way and sitting down on the corner of Eli's desk. "So, I talked to your sister on my way in."

Eli pulled another paper over one that Micah didn't have the security clearance to read. "Stay away from my sister," he said distractedly, and not seriously at all. Micah was practically family, he wouldn't go after Jenn.

Micah shook his head. "Jesus, man. What kind of guy do you think I am? In my head she's still basically twelve anyway."

"That's nice to know."

"But she told me something interesting, something I would have thought you might tell your best friend the moment you found out about it."

"About the selection?" Eli continued to reorganize the papers Micah had moved. "Thanks for messing up my desk, by the way."

"You're welcome." He paused for a moment, before saying, "What are you going to do about that?"

Eli shrugged, still distracted. "Get married, I guess. To some lovely lady my father picked out."

Micah shook his head. "Not what I meant. Are you…" He trailed off, clearly not wanting to say it.

Eli answered the half-asked question. "Yup. That was six years of my life, Mi. I'm not sure I'll ever really be over her."

Micah nodded slowly. "So, the Selection."

"It's going to make me a fucking wreck, yeah." Eli sighed. "I have no idea how I'm going to make it through this without having a mental breakdown."

"Well, that's not good."

Eli buried his head in his hands. "Way to state the fucking obvious, Mi."

Micah sighed. "What did you do with that bottle of scotch I got you for your birthday? I think you need a drink."

"Or five. It's long gone."

"Really? You drank it all? You? Illea's easiest man to get drunk? How did you not die?"

"Half. Probably less than that, actually. It's kind of fuzzy. Matthias dumped the rest."

"I'll buy you another bottle. Maybe two."

"Buy yourself one too, I'm going to need you around."

"Oh, no no no."

"Oh, yes yes yes. What kind of best friend are you?"

"Fine. But you're paying for the years of therapy I'm going to need afterwards."

Eli nodded. "Fair. Not like you didn't need those before, but okay." He sighed. "I hope you're really good at planning dates, because I am not."

"I don't date, remember? Why would I know?"

Eli sighed again. "This is going to be fun."

**AN: Thank you so much to the people who have submitted characters so far! I love them all so much! **


	3. Chapter 3

_The Report Studio, The Palace, Angeles, June 14th, 5:53pm_

_Elijah_

Seven minutes. Eli mentally counted down the minutes to the start time of the report, he always did, had since he was a little kid. He took a nervous sip from a bottle of water, and set it aside. Six minutes.

Michelle, the host of the report, hurried over to speak to him just as his count hit five minutes. "Got everything down?"

He nodded, absently rubbing at a softening callus on the ring finger of his left hand. It had been a long time since he had last played, so that was what he had expected, but he was a little bit sad. Would he even remember how to play now if he picked up a guitar? Probably, it was all muscle memory.

He shook off those thoughts, realizing Michelle was still standing in front of him, expecting a verbal answer to her question. "Yeah, I'm ready." She left, and he continued counting down. Four minutes. Three minutes. Eli took his place in front of the cameras, sitting between his father and Jenn. Charles was sitting next to her, and Melody next to him. At the end of the line sat Melissa.

Two minutes. One minute.

Eli adjusted his posture slightly the moment the cameras came on, out of habit from years of being lectured on how to look like a good future king. Michelle began speaking, welcoming everyone who had tuned in to the Capital Report. First came an update on the situation with the instability in Dominica, given by a military official. Then a scientist gave an update on measures being taken to combat pollution in Paloma, Bonita, Honduragua, and Panama.

Then it came time to announce the selection.

Eli went through the perfectly memorized bullshit about how he was taking an exciting step towards one day ascending the throne by calling on one of Illea's oldest traditions and finding a wife and future queen from among thirty-five lovely daughters of Illea, and politely smiled at Michelle and tried not to think about _her_ when Michelle asked what he was looking for in a future wife. He thought about his answer for a moment. He hadn't known she was going to ask this question, so he hadn't had time to memorize a bullshit answer. That was probably why she hadn't warned him that she was going to ask.

What was he looking for in a future wife? He really didn't have a clue. All he could think about was the girl who had almost been his wife, but he knew his chances of finding someone even a little bit similar in a group of thirty-five women handpicked by his father was low. If his father had ever met her, he would have hated her. And if he was honest, it would hurt too bad to be faced with someone even a little bit similar. Every moment he spent with her would be tainted by memories of the one who had almost been.

But right now, he just needed to bullshit his way past this question. He shrugged his shoulders, gave Michelle a well practiced fake smile, and said, "I don't know. I guess I'll find out, won't I?" He laughed, not quite genuine, but nobody would know that by hearing it. "I think I'll know it when I see it."

Michelle gave her best carefully rehearsed smile in return, and said, "I suppose that's as good a policy as any."

Eli nodded in agreement, relieved that it was over. He returned to his seat, and watched as the report wrapped up. The second the cameras turned off, Eli was out of his seat. He wanted to get out of there before his father found some minor thing he had done wrong to nitpick. He headed towards the place where he had stashed a change of clothes, shedding his suit jacket and tie as he walked.

He found the clothes, and stashed the jacket and tie in the spot the clothes had been earlier. He stepped into a nearby bathroom, and quickly changed into a t-shirt and jeans.

When he left the bathroom, Jenn was waiting outside, hair already undone. She was barefoot, and holding her high heels in one hand. "Dad had me cornered by Lord Edgewood _again_. I don't know why he's so desperate to make that match work."

Eli took her shoes from her hand, and went to stash them with his stuff. One of them would come back for it later. "I dunno. Lord Edgewood is a jackass. You'd think he would know the type and not want his own daughter married off to someone like him?"

"You'd think," she agreed, before stepping into the bathroom to change out of her dress. She stepped out a moment later, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt like Eli. "Ready to go?"

Eli nodded. "Yeah. Charles coming or no?"

Jenn shook her head. "Nope. I asked earlier today."

"Don't know why you even bother." Eli started towards the palace garages, Jenn following behind.

"Because he's our brother. He doesn't deserve this from you."

"You have no idea what he says about Mom behind her back. Thinks it'll get him in our dearest father's good graces to talk shit about her."

"It's still worth trying. No offense, but you were a bit of an ass at eighteen too."

That had been before he had met _her_. She had changed his whole world, right down to his worldview. Before he had met her, he had bought all kinds of bullshit that he saw straight through now. And he was a better person for it. An angrier person, sure, but at least he wasn't obliviously furthering the broken status quo.

But as usual, she was the last person he wanted to think about. "I was different."

"How, Eli? How were you different?"

He couldn't find an answer to that. Really, he and Charles were sort of the same. Except he'd never called Mom a bitch behind her back. And he'd never craved their father's attention like Charles seemed to. He had always gotten far too much of that. But he had gotten a wake up call, and changed everything about the way he thought. It seemed that Charles would probably never get it, and if he did, he'd just ignore it.

They reached the garage, and Eli slid into the driver's seat of a rather boring black car, which wouldn't stand out on the streets. Jenn got in the passenger seat, and they headed out of the garage. Eli knew perfectly well that they were being followed by a team of bodygaurds, but that was a small price to pay to have this rare moment of freedom.

They got caught in traffic on the way over, but Eli didn't care. Every minute spent out of the palace was a good minute, and every good minute vastly improved Eli's mood. He and Jenn took turns picking music, and by the time they were turning on to Mom's street, he was singing along.

There was already a car parked in the driveway when they arrived. Eli recognized it as Micah's car. He pulled up behind it, turned off the car, and got out. Sure enough, Micah was there, sitting on the front porch swing, smoking.

Eli and Jenn made their way up and through the front door. Mom was there in the kitchen stirring a pot on the stove. She turned when Eli and Jenn came in, and smiled at them. She set the spoon on a nearby spoon rest, then stepped forward to give first Jenn, and then Eli, a hug.

She pulled back, leaving her hands on Eli's shoulders. "When were you going to tell me?"

"You watched the report?" Eli raised his eyebrows. He knew she hardly ever watched the report.

She nodded. "Thought I'd see what's going on in the palace these days. Micah was here, he wanted to watch. Melody is getting big these days, isn't she?"

Of course it had been Micah's idea. Eli nodded. "Yeah, she just turned seven in May."

"Don't dodge the question, Eli."

He sighed. "I didn't want to talk about it."

She nodded, and turned back to her cooking. That seemed to be all the explanation she needed. She knew about Isabelle, of course she did, he had introduced them before he had even been with her a year. "Why don't you go talk to Micah? He seems a little off today."

"A little off? How so?" Alarm bells immediately went off. If Micah had relapsed Eli was going to kill him. Selfishly, he needed Micah to help him through the selection. He didn't want him off somewhere getting high, or in rehab.

"I don't think he's high, if that's what you were wondering." As usual, Mom knew exactly what was on his mind. "I don't know. Just tired. Moodier than normal."

Eli nodded, and headed out onto the porch. He plunked down next to Micah on the porch swing. "What's up?"

Micah shrugged. "The sky. The clouds. Probably a bird or two." He had one foot up on the porch railing, and was using it to push the swing.

Eli grinned, and punched him lightly in the arm. "Smartass."

"So, it's happening for real."

"So it is."

"You'll know it when you see it?" Micah raised his eyebrows, and blew a mouthful of smoke out away from the house.

"I knew she was something special when I saw her for the first time."

Micah shrugged, and took a drag off his cigarette. "Shit like that is once in a lifetime, man. You need a better strategy than that."

"Yeah, I know. That was me bullshitting on the spot. Michelle didn't tell me she was going to ask that question ahead of time. By the way, you never did answer the question. What's up?"

"Yeah I fucking did, the sky is most certainly up."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Fine, wiseass, let me rephrase that. What is currently happening in your life?"

"There's this girl who won't leave me alone, her name is Sandra. But she has no idea what I've been doing with my life up until six months ago so I'm trying to avoid her. Oh, and my best friend is having a selection."

Eli ignored the selection comment, and focused on the first part. "Oh, so you don't want her to leave you alone?" Eli grinned and nudged Micah lightly. "Good for you, man."

"I mean I do want her to leave me alone, but I only want her to leave me alone because then she won't get hurt when she finds out that I'm an addict with about a thousand pounds of baggage. And not to mention the fact that I've never even been on a date. If that makes any sense."

Eli nodded sympathetically. "Hopefully it'll go better than Rachel did."

Micah groaned. "Oh god. We do **not** talk about Rachel. She had her brother come and threaten me. And I didn't even do anything, just was upfront and honest with her like you're supposed to be with people you might want to date."

"Yeah, that thing I'm highly unlikely to do with any of the selected."

"Why not? I mean better to be honest about the fact that the resulting marriage is all fake to you, right?"

Eli shrugged. "I mean probably. But I don't want word to get out, you know. That this wasn't my choice and all that. It looks bad."

Micah shrugged. "Dunno what to tell you. Other than you need a therapist."

"Don't we all?" Eli sighed, and rested his head in his hands. Some days even getting out of bed seemed impossible, much less someday leading a country. He definitely needed professional help, but there were half a dozen reasons that wasn't an option. Everything was about image. Eli had to seem stable, even if he wasn't actually stable.

At that moment Mom came out of the house. "Dinner's ready." Eli and Micah stood up and headed towards the door. Evelyn stopped Micah as he reached the door. "Put that out."

Micah did as instructed before following Eli into the house. They all sat down around the table. There was an obvious empty spot at the table where Charles would have been sitting if he had come with them, but Evelyn didn't say anything about his absence, and neither did anyone else.

It was nice to have a family dinner that wasn't fraught with tension, as every meal eaten at the palace usually was. They all laughed and talked, instead of eating in silence, speaking only when absolutely necessary, or when Dad or Melissa tried to engage them in conversation, in the interest of looking like a normal family.

After dinner, as Mom and Jenn and Micah talked, Eli slipped down to the basement. After she had died, he had left a lot of the stuff that had been in her apartment, in their apartment, down there. He hadn't wanted to look at it, or even think about it.

His guitars were here, as were several boxes of things that had been hers. He hadn't even tried to open the boxes, or touched one of the guitars, in the year she had been gone.

He reached out to undo the latches on one of the guitar cases, and lifted the guitar out. He played a chord. It was horribly out of tune. He ought to be in her apartment, with her leaning over his shoulder as he played. But she was dead, and someone else was living in her apartment now. And nothing was as it should be.

He looked up to see Mom standing at the foot of the stairs, watching him. He shook his head, and moved to put the guitar back in its case. He wasn't ready to play again, not without being overwhelmed by memories. Maybe someday, but not today. A year hadn't been enough time. He closed the clasps of the case, and stood up.

Mom approached, and engulfed him in a hug, as if she knew exactly what he was feeling. She probably did. "I still miss her," Eli mumbled into her shoulder. "How am I going to do this? I don't want to move on. I'm not ready to have someone else in this place she ought to be."

Mom pulled back, and gestured for him to sit on the couch. He did, and she did the same. "You know, the Selection doesn't have a set timespan, right? You don't have to have a wife picked out quickly. You can take a little bit of time to narrow it down, and it'll be alright. And then of course, after the selection is over, you'll have at least a year before the wedding. Your father and I didn't have one, but long engagements are typical for royalty. It's going to be alright. You don't have to get married overnight, your father is full of shit."

Eli nodded. He could almost believe that she was right, and it was going to be alright and he would be able to do it.

"The Selection is classically used as a distraction when the King would prefer to have the spotlight pulled off a situation, you know. So I think your father might rather you draw this one out. Dominica, right? Protests? Violence?"

Eli looked at her, surprised that she knew that. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I was Queen of Illea for almost sixteen years, I know all about the inner workings of the palace. Now, why don't you come back upstairs? Jenn and Micah were arguing about movies and they're going to need a tiebreaker vote."

Eli nodded, and stood up. "Hey Mom?"

She stood up as well, and smiled at him. "Yes?"

"Thanks."

"I'm your mother, giving advice is my job."

He laughed, and reached out to hug her again.

* * *

**AN: Six is not the canon time that the report aired, but I wanted everyone to go over to Evelyn's afterward, so I had to change the time. This is the last chaper I could finish until I get more of your girls, so I can't promise a new chapter next Monday, but we'll see. Thank you all so much for reading and submitting girls!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Middle-Class Apartment, Angeles, January 10th, 5:26pm, One Year Previously_

_Elijah_

The smell of cooking food and the sound of rock music, probably loud enough that the neighbors were thoroughly annoyed, filled the air. Eli nodded in time with the music as he worked his way through the steps of cooking. He glanced up at the clock on the microwave. She'd be home any minute now.

Funny how he thought of this place as home, even though he didn't even spend a week out of every month there. But it was far more home than the palace had ever been.

He barely heard her come in over the sound of the music. He turned and smiled at her as she closed the front door and knelt down to unlace her leather boots.

She took off her boots and made her way into the kitchen, stopping to shed her leather jacket and drape it over one of the kitchen chairs. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

He set the spatula he was holding aside. "Is that any way to greet your boyfriend? Who you haven't seen since last week? And clearly I'm cooking you dinner."

She rolled her eyes and kissed him briefly on the lips. "It's the middle of the week."

"So it is." He went back to the pan on the stove.

She pulled herself up to sit on the counter next to the stove while he worked. "How did you get away?"

"I'm supposed to be writing a speech right now."

"You should probably be, I don't know, actually doing that? You're kind of proving my 'the royals are lazy dickheads' thing at the moment."

"Are you trying to get rid of me? I thought you wanted to see me," he said playfully.

"I do want to see you, I just don't want you to get shit for it." She crossed her legs. "If you get your stupid ass in trouble you'll have a hard time coming to see me."

"I'm delegating. It's an important skill to have as a leader."

She rolled her eyes, and leaned over to kiss him. "Whatever you say."

"And anyway I'm doing something really important here."

"And what would that be?"

"I'm ensuring that the line of succession stays intact."

She laughed, and punched him affectionately in the shoulder. "Ain't happening. As much as I'd like to see a little Eli running around someday, we're not having one anytime soon."

"I know. Practice is very important."

He winked at her, and she laughed again. "You're the worst."

"I know. You love me anyway."

"That I do," she agreed, sweeping her hair out of her face with one hand.

"I love you too." He reached for the pepper shaker. "So, how was your day?"

"Well, it got a whole hell of a lot better when I got home and there was this guy in my kitchen…"

* * *

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, Angeles, June 28th, 3:15pm_

_Elijah_

The ceiling was really fucking boring. Eli could be doing half a dozen different things at that moment, all of them more exciting than laying on his back on his bed staring up at the ceiling, but for some reason he wasn't doing anything. He should be showering and getting ready for the Report. Or reading any of the four folders that were sitting on his desk, about various decisions he needed to make before the Selected arrived at the palace. Or doing literally anything other than staring at the ceiling.

Even though he felt bad about not doing anything, he couldn't bring himself to move. He wanted to do literally anything other than lay there staring at the ceiling, but he felt like he was made out of cement.

It wasn't even an exciting ceiling. It was completely plain white, with a bumpy texture. He already knew that it was completely perfect, like everything else in the palace supposedly was. But of course, that was all a lie, because nothing was perfect.

He forced himself to sit up. He could call out to Matthias and get one of the files sitting on his desk at any time, but that felt way too lazy. After all, he was going to be King of Illéa, he probably shouldn't be so lazy. He stretched, and glanced over at the clock. He wasn't sure he wanted to know how long he had been laying there doing nothing. Probably way too long.

Only twenty minutes. It had felt way longer. He sighed, and dragged himself over to the desk. He sat down, and picked up a folder, and started going through it, but he couldn't focus at all.

Eli tried to force himself to read it for a few minutes, but eventually had to give up. He sighed, and tossed it back on the desk. Why couldn't he focus? It was a decision about paint colors, it wasn't fucking difficult. He rested his head in his hands, frustrated and annoyed with himself. He picked up a different file. Maybe paint colors were too easy. Maybe this one would be easier to focus on.

It was not. He set it aside after a few minutes as well, and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He itched to do something, anything, yet he didn't actually want to get up and get moving.

Eli forced himself to go back to trying to pay attention to the files in front of him. He picked up the third file, and then the fourth, abandoning them both after just a few minutes each.

He went back to the first one, but he still couldn't focus on it. He sighed again, frustrated, and rubbed at his eyes. Maybe he needed more sleep. He had slept badly over the last… hell, forever, it felt like. When was the last time he had gotten a good night's sleep and woken up actually feeling rested? It had been a long time. He had technically slept enough hours the day after his birthday, but it hadn't been at night, and he certainly hadn't woken up feeling rested. Before that, he couldn't remember the last time he had even slept eight hours.

He definitely needed more sleep. He was tempted to go back to laying on the bed staring up at the ceiling, in a haze of boredom, in the hopes he'd eventually fall asleep, but he only had about two hours until the report. Really, he ought to be getting ready, not trying to nap. He stood up, and headed into the bathroom to shower.

By 5:45, he was ready, and in the Report studio, more than early enough. The week before he had nearly been late. This time his father couldn't complain about how his lack of punctuality was going to make him an awful king someday. Of course, he'd find something else to complain about, no matter how hard Eli tried, so it didn't matter.

Six o'clock came, and as soon as the cameras came on, Eli was in his place, mask of perfect, calm, responsible future king who totally hadn't just wasted an entire afternoon, firmly in place on his face. It didn't matter how he felt, the Report was all about how he looked. He had known that since the age of four.

The Selection was the sole focus of tonight's report. Eli smiled politely as Michelle opened the envelopes and announced the names of the Selected that would be arriving at the palace in a little over a week.

With every name she announced, with every face that appeared on a screen for Eli to react to, the whole thing felt more and more real. He kept his smile throughout the process, even though he didn't feel like smiling.

Afterwards, his father laid his hand on Eli's shoulder, just as he was about to leave the studio. "Why don't you have dinner with me tonight, Elijah? Just the two of us. I can give you some advice on the Selection."

That was a bad sign, but Eli agreed. "Yeah."

His father smiled. "Good." He took his hand off Eli's shoulder. "Come along then."

Eli followed him upstairs to his father's private sitting room. There was already a table set up, set for two. Dad took his seat, and Eli followed his example.

He took a sip of the already filled water glass sitting on the table, and took a long look at Eli. Eli waited patiently for the nitpicking to start.

"Did you make a decision on those files you were sent this morning?"

Eli shook his head. "I was too nervous." A total lie, but hopefully one his father would accept easily.

"You're going to be a king, son, you shouldn't let nerves get the better of you like that. What kind of king gets too nervous to do his job? Apparently the kind you're going to be, which is a weak king."

Better to be chastised for nerves than for laziness. "In a little over a week I'm going to be dating thirty-five women at once. I think that would make anyone nervous, even a king."

His father laughed. Good. Eli had been gambling with that statement. "I suppose that's true enough. They can be a lot of trouble, after all. I must have eliminated three in the first two weeks over fights." He shook his head at the memory. "That's a word of advice to you, son. Eliminate the troublemaker early. There'll be one who starts fights, and she needs to go as soon as you figure her out. Doesn't matter her qualifications. A Queen needs to be diplomatic, you understand? Can't go around starting fights as Queen."

Eli nodded. "I understand."

"And of course you'll need to remember that this is a show for the public as much as it is about you picking a wife. I've had the Selected's files sent down for you to have a look at, as well as a schedule of events and eliminations I would suggest you follow, for best results looks wise. Of course you're free to make alterations, when obvious issues present themselves after the Selected arrive."

Eli nodded again. "I'm aware, and I'll make sure to put on a good show."

A servant brought in plates of food, then left the room. His father picked up his fork to begin eating, and Eli did the same. "Another important thing to remember is not to pick anyone too headstrong. You are going to be king, you are not going to be someone's puppet. You don't want a forceful woman, you're already a bit of a pushover."

Eli barely kept himself from responding to his father's jab. He was only a pushover because he had been raised from birth to respect his father's authority. When his father wanted something from Eli, he got it, that had always been how it worked. And now he was complaining about what he had made?

He didn't have any particular problem with forceful women himself. In fact, she had been pretty forceful, and Eli had thoroughly enjoyed it… Oh, fuck no. She was dead now, and he did not need to think about that in the same room as his father. That was all kinds of not okay.

His father continued. "You need to strike just the right balance. Too obviously just a pretty face and you look bad, but too political and you've got yourself a recipe for trouble. You want someone with connections and useful talents, but no real aspirations for more power than being Queen provides. Someone who the people will like, who won't stir up any gossip or trouble."

Eli refrained from pointing out that Dad had failed at that with both of his marriages. Mom had fulfilled most of those criteria, except for when she divorced his father, but that one was really on Eli, if he was honest. Melissa was clearly a pretty face, had no connections or useful talents, and seemed to be mostly hated by the population. Or pitied, by those who did the math and realized just how young she had been when she had supposedly broken up the King's marriage. Of course that was a lie, but Eli was one of the few people who had known that Melissa hadn't been responsible. His father hadn't met Melissa until after the divorce.

The divorce had been Eli's fault. But of course it had been for the best anyway. Dad hadn't exactly been a good husband when he and Mom had been married, he had had mistresses throughout their marriage, and had been insistent on making sure that Mom knew that he was in control at all times.

"I think I've given you a good set of girls. I spent all day today picking them out for you. You'll have to see what you think for yourself, of course, but I think you'll be able to find an excellent Queen out of the group. I have a favorite, but of course, I'm not going to tell you who it is. You'll have to make that choice for yourself."

Oh, it was actually up to Eli? That was new. His father always wanted to micromanage everything, and didn't like anything to be outside his control. His father's next words reminded him that that was still true. "There's only a very few girls in there that I wouldn't be pleased with you marrying in the end." Of course. Eli only had the illusion of choice. Dad couldn't possibly let him make an actual choice.

"I'm looking forward to when they all arrive."

The rest of the meal was spent with Dad giving Eli advice that he didn't intend to really follow as Eli nodded along. Before dessert was brought in, Eli excused himself to go start reading through the forms, and made his way to his room.

The lights were on. That was a surprise. Matthias must be cleaning, even though it was past eight o'clock. Eli stepped into his room. Matthias wasn't there. Instead, Micah laid sprawled out on Eli's bed, flipping through a file that had to be one of the Selected's files.

"Why are your shoes on my bed?"

Micah glanced up at Eli, and tossed the file onto one of two piles. He started writing something down on a sheet of paper in front of him. "I've been here doing you a favor and you're complaining about my shoes?"

"Yup." Eli sat down in his desk chair. "Shoes. Off. Were you raised in a fucking barn?"

Micah rolled his eyes, and kicked his shoes off. "No, I was raised right here, same as you, asshole."

"Yeah, I'm aware." Micah's father had been part of Eli's father's council ten years before. Micah had lived in the palace for his first ten years of life, until his parents had gotten divorced. "Do you want me to go find Brea so she can hit you over the head with a rolled up newspaper for your lack of proper behavior? She's Mel's nanny now, she's still around."

"My shoes are off now, I'll pass." Micah finished making his list, and passed it to Eli. "Here you go. Don't say I never do anything for you."

Eli scanned the paper. It appeared to have the names of all thirty-five of the Selected listed several times on it, organized in different orders by different criteria. "What's this?"

"I went through all thirty-five of the forms, and came up with several different orders for how you might want to look at the forms. There's the obvious province by alphabetical order, but I've also listed them by hair color, age, how compatible I think they might be with you, and my personal opinion."

"Hair color? Dude. And personal opinion? Does that mean you ranked them by how hot you think they are? Because that's gross."

"Everybody knows you're not into blondes. And no, personal opinion is by how badass they look. And aren't you forgetting something?"

"No, it's literally just you who knows I don't like blondes. And that's still ranking them based on looks." Eli surveyed the list. "What's with this Angelique girl? Why is she listed in the blonde category and the redhead category?"

"I thought maybe I could see some red roots in her picture. No idea if she'll go back to her natural color during the makeovers. You were supposed to thank me, by the way." He flopped back on the bed. "I was thinking of dying my hair again."

"Thank you, Micah, you're the best. No, you can't use my bathroom to dye your hair," Eli said absently as he continued to study the list. "Grey hair, huh? Let's see Liath."

"You're absolutely no fun." Micah sat up and rummaged through the pile of forms again. "Here she is. She's really cool, she's the girl from that parkour team, the one who did the what she did to get the picture thing."

"You have your own place. You only want to do it here because it's not your responsibility to clean." Eli accepted the folder, and opened it. "I have no idea who that is." He studied Liath's picture for a moment. "Not bad. I hope they don't make her change the hair during makeovers, it's really cool." He handed Micah the form back. "Got any other favorites?"

"Fine. You caught me. You're still no fun, though." Micah plucked a form off the top of a pile. "This is Adelynn Sailor, she's a six, but she has your thing for large bodies of water."

"Shut up, I'm all kinds of fun." Eli surveyed the application. Adelynn, a flight attendant and lifeguard, did indeed seem to share his love for the ocean. That was good. He would have something in common with at least one of the Selected. "She's blonde, though," he pointed out.

"Weren't you just complaining about me being shallow?" Micah shook his head. "Gotta give her a chance." He handed Eli another folder, and took Adelynn's. "Here, this one's more your speed. Looks-wise. She's a preschool teacher, not sure how well that's going to go when you actually meet."

Eli laughed. "Can you imagine? Me with a preschool teacher." He scanned the form. "Black hair is good, yeah. But you're right, we'll see how well this goes when we actually meet. What do you want to bet she's one of Dad's favorites?"

"Real you, playboy you, or perfect prince you? And yeah, she probably is."

"Any of the above."

"Real you? Fuck no. I mean have you heard yourself talk?"

"You think I have a filthy mouth when I talk? You should hear me think."

Micah laughed. "Yeah, no. Unless she secretly has a filthy mouth when there's no children around, or isn't particularly fazed by yours. Playboy you I can totally see it. It would make a good story. Wild child meets good girl, she tames him, they fall in love."

"Unfortunately it's all just cover for my other issues and I literally haven't had a drink since my birthday. And the last time I had sex is just straight up depressingly long ago. I could be a priest." Eli set her form aside.

Micah laughed again. "Yeah, right. Since when are you religious?"

"Easter and Christmas, since I'm technically going to be the ceremonial head of the Church of Illéa in a decade or so."

"Oh, right, forgot about that. That's wild."

"Tell me about it." Eli held out a hand for another form. "Let's see another one."

"Here's Cassandra White. We've met her." He put another form in Eli's hand.

"We have?" Eli looked it over. "She's got a lot of skills listed. And according to this her father is an ambassador, I know him. Bet she's another one of Dad's favorites." He studied Cassandra's picture for a moment. "Her hair's going to stand out in a crowd." He didn't comment on her green eyes. Isabelle had had green eyes, and that was the last thing Eli wanted to think about.

"Yeah, you were blackout drunk at the time. It was last summer."

Eli nodded. Last summer had not been a good time in his life, so it wasn't a surprise that he had been so drunk that he didn't remember meeting Cassandra. "Makes sense." He tossed Cassandra's form down on a pile at random. "I'm done thinking about the Selection for the night."

Micah nodded. "Fair. Do you want company and entertainment, or are you just going to bed?"

Eli hesitated. He was tempted to just go to bed, even though he wouldn't be able to sleep, but he could tell that Micah wasn't offering company out of the goodness of his heart. Micah needed the company, probably more than Eli did. "Company and entertainment, please."

The relief was obvious on Micah's face. "Great. What do you want to do?"

"Anything, as long as it doesn't involve the Selection."

"Deal."

* * *

**AN: This was originally intended to be the fifth chapter, but I needed more Selected before I could post what was intended to be the fourth chapter. So the next one will be a little bit out of chronological order, but that's alright. **

**Some of the Selected will be making their first appearances next chapter! With a few exceptions, I will be alternating chapters between chapters from the Selected's PoVs, and chapters from Eli's PoV.**

**Let me know what you think of this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Illéa in Focus**_

_**June 15th**_

_**Is Illéa's Wild Crown Prince Finally Settling Down?**_

Over the past year Prince Elijah's exploits have been talked about across the nation. A dramatic week-long disappearance last summer, a rumored affair with Princess Adrienne of France (since been proven false), and more drunken shenanigans than can be counted on one hand.

But it looks like he's finally preparing to settle down and take his responsibilities seriously. The most note-worthy event from his twenty-fifth birthday celebration nine days ago was model Christi Williams' dramatic drunken breakup with her boyfriend in the palace gardens. In fact, Prince Elijah himself left the party before midnight.

Coming on the heels of his twenty-fifth birthday was yesterday's announcement that he will be calling on one of Illéa's oldest traditions in his search for a wife. The Selection has a storied history, with generations of the royal family finding partners through this tradition. Prince Elijah's father, King William, and grandfather, the late King Richard, found queens in this manner. It's traditionally a first step in the process that will eventually lead to King William stepping down, and allowing Prince Elijah to take his place.

During the Selection, thirty-five Illéan girls, one from each province, are chosen at random from the eligible population, and brought to the palace, where they meet the prince and the royal family. The girls go on dates with the prince, and are eliminated one by one. At the end of the Selection, the prince proposes to his favorite girl, the one he wants as the future Queen of Illéa.

Forms have been sent out to every eligible young woman in Illéa. Every woman who wishes to enter should fill out the form and turn it in at her local province services office, where her photo will be taken so it can be shown when the Selected are announced, if she happens to be chosen.

When asked what he was looking for in a future wife, Prince Elijah's response was "I'll know it when I see it." A bit of a nonanswer, really, and doesn't say anything about what traits might give one a leg up in the Selection. By design, perhaps? Maybe what Prince Elijah is really looking for is someone genuine, so he avoided saying anything that could change how the Selected behave around him.

We here at Illéa in Focus will be reporting on the Selection every step of the way, from the announcement of the Selection (taking place on the Report on June 28th), all the way to the proposal, however far in the future that may be.

Good luck to all the ladies out there who will be entering the Selection!

* * *

_White Family Home, Allens, June 15th, 10:17am_

_Cassandra White, Allens, 2_

Cassandra was standing in the kitchen when her father came into the room. The Selection had been announced the night before, and her father had been making calls all morning, in an attempt to ensure that Cass would have her place in the Selection, to do what she was raised to do.

"Good news, Cass. I spoke to one of my friends at the palace this morning, and he's going to ensure that you have a place in the Selection. You just need to fill out the form and turn it in the regular way." Her father handed her an envelope. "Here. This came this morning."

Cassandra nodded, and accepted the envelope. That was even better news than she had expected. Of course the Selection wasn't a lottery, so she had been practically guaranteed to get in, but it was nice to have an actual guarantee. She slowly opened the envelope, and pulled out the letter inviting her to enter the Selection and the form. She scanned the letter quickly, then sat down at the spotless counter in the kitchen to fill out the form.

Her father hovered over her shoulder as she put down her name, her date of birth, her contact information, height and weight, home address, and educational qualifications, all in her best handwriting. He stopped her as she reached the section on hobbies. "Remember, Prince Elijah likes—"

"Music, art, and politics." She wrote down _traveling, playing piano, and painting_. She only actually enjoyed traveling, but the only thing that mattered was winning the Selection. She could play piano and paint well enough to convince someone that she actually enjoyed those two things.

"Good." A rare bit of praise from her father. Cassandra smiled, pleased to have received even that tiny bit of praise. No matter what it took, she would do what she was born and raised to do. She would win the Selection, and she would make her father proud.

She finished filling out the form, and headed up to her room to get ready to head over to the province services office to have her picture taken and turn in the form. She dressed in a dark green minidress that matched the color of her eyes, and slipped on a pair of matching heels. Even though she was guaranteed to get in, she still needed to look her best in her picture. The sooner she caught Prince Elijah's eye, the better. Of course, there was no way she wouldn't catch his eye. She would do anything to make herself stand out.

She sat down at her vanity to fix her hair and makeup. She decided to curl her long red hair, and careful applied makeup to enhance all of her facial features. It was nearly an hour before she was ready to go over to the province services office.

There wasn't a line there yet. Cassandra assumed that most of the other girls in the province hadn't received their letters yet. She was able to walk right in and up to the clerk's desk. She handed in her form, smiled for the picture, and watched as her form was placed in an envelope and added to a bin, which only had a few other similar envelopes in it. She was in. Now all she needed to do was win.

* * *

_Flecks Family Home, Columbia, June 19th, 7:00pm_

_Lennox Flecks, Columbia, 6_

The moment Lennox got off work, she hurried home to see Jack before he went to bed. She stopped in the kitchen before heading up the stairs. There was a stack of letters on the kitchen counter. One each for her sisters, Renna, Elara, Amila, and Kelaya. And one for her. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the letters. Renna and Elara wouldn't even open theirs, they both had boyfriends. Amila and Kelaya both might consider it, Lennox didn't know if they would or not. It didn't really matter to her.

She grabbed the one addressed to her off the counter. She held it in her hand for a moment. The Selection was a competition for the hand of a prince. And she didn't exactly have any interest in princes. Princesses, maybe, but princes were a definite no. But the Selection was also an opportunity to advance herself. Everyone who was Selected got to go up to a Three, which was exactly what Lennox needed to be to become a journalist. And the money wasn't anything to sneeze at either.

She sighed, shoved the letter in the pocket of her waitress uniform, and headed up the creaky stairs to Jack's bedroom. He was there, playing with his toy cars on the floor. Lennox sat down next to him, and he smiled up at her. "Lenny!"

She smiled at him. "Hey baby." She reached for a car to join him in playing. She hated that he called her Lenny instead of Mommy, but it was necessary. As far as Jack was concerned, she was his sister, his grandmother was his mother, and Lennox's step-father was his father. And that was the way it had to be. This way, Jack got to be a four instead of a six, and Lennox got to avoid the stigma of being a teen mother.

That had been such a mistake. She hadn't even been into James, but she had had to know if she was really a lesbian. The answer was yes, and Jack was born nine months later.

She played with Jack for a while longer, then read him a bedtime story, kissed him on the forehead, and headed back to the bedroom she shared with Kelaya. Kelaya wasn't there, which was good. It gave Lennox space to think.

She pulled the letter out of the pocket of her uniform and stared at it. There were so many reasons not to fill it out. She was gay, she couldn't leave Jack here, and she wasn't a big fan of the royal family. Except for Princess Jenevieve, who Lennox had been crushing on for a good few years now.

But there were also reasons to fill it out. If she ever wanted to date women, she had to get out of this town, and the Selection would give the financial resources to do so. It would give her the caste she needed to achieve her dreams. And Jack would be fine here. That was why she had let her mother raise him. So he could have a better life. So she felt like it was her turn to do something that could get her a better life for herself.

She slit open the envelope and began to fill out the form.

* * *

_Verdant Family Home, Sumner, June 20th, 6:05pm_

_Thea Verdant, Sumner, 4_

Thea checked her watch. Crap, she was five minutes late already. She opened the front door to her family's house, and hurried in. The sound of multiple different conversations emanated from the dining room. She headed in and took her seat in between her friend Halle and her younger sister Nadia.

Her father was still in the process of serving everyone off the large platter of meat in the center of the table. It took a while to get thirteen people served, so Thea wasn't too late. Eventually everyone was served, and began eating.

Everyone was silent for a little bit, more interested in their food than in talking, until Thea's father said, "So, what has everyone done today? I'll start. Today I saw a man propose to his girlfriend in my shop." He gave an exaggerated wink towards Luc, who shook his head, smiling.

"Not yet, Dad. Not yet." Luc and Halle were holding hands under the table and smiling at each other as Luc spoke, so Thea suspected that it was only a matter of time. That would be nice. Halle had been friends with Thea since childhood, and Thea considered her to be practically family, but it would be nice to make it official.

Nadia apparently suspected the same thing, because she elbowed Thea in the ribs and discreetly pointed to Luc and Halle's hands. Thea nodded, and elbowed her back, just to be annoying.

Her father gestured towards her mother, who was seated at the end of the table, with his fork. "It's your turn, May."

"Well, the house on Woodberry lane, the one that's been on the market for seven months, finally sold today. A retired couple from Waverly bought it." She gestured towards Jana, one of Thea's younger sisters. "It's your turn, sweetheart."

Jana pushed a strand of her long black hair, which was similar to the hair of everyone in the family except Halle, Thea's father, and Luc. "Well, I went to get ice cream with Ally today," she said quietly. Thea made a pleased comment, as did everyone else in the family. Jana was very shy, and often Thea had to help her do things like that.

Jana picked Luc to go next, who picked his girlfriend Halle. The triplets, Jaclyn, Gregory, and Isak, went in quick succession, then Eliot and Kai, Thea's older brothers, went. Elodie had her turn, then Nadia shared an anecdote about a boy she had met earlier that day. Then it was Thea's turn.

"I submitted my form for the Selection today."

Nadia was the first to react. "Really?"

Thea nodded. "There was a line out the door of the province services office. That's why I was late."

Kai, as usual, had his objections to the idea of Thea dating. "But you don't know anything about him. You don't know what kind of guy he is."

"I can take care of myself, Kai. And anyway, it's a lottery, what are my chances of even getting in? There are so many girls entering."

"You sure he won't send you home right away, when he realizes how annoying you are?" Eliot asked with a teasing grin.

She rolled her eyes. "You're the annoying one."

Luc shook his head. "But what will I do without my beloved baby sister around if you get in?"

"I'm not even a full year younger than you, Luc, I'm not your baby sister. And you have Halle, you'll be fine."

He made a mock pouty face at her, but she just shook her head in reply. Down at the end of the table, her mother changed the subject. "How was work today, Thea? You worked the lunch shift, right?"

Thea nodded. "I'm working dinner tomorrow night, and Saturday and Sunday too. Work was good. The new waitress only dropped one plate today, but she mixed up three different orders. And today was a slow day."

Eliot nodded. He was a chef too, so he was familiar with the kind of environment Thea worked in. "We got a new waitress last week where I work, but fortunately she hasn't messed up anything since starting."

Down at the other end of the table, Isak and Jaclyn were goofing off noisily. Jana seemed to be trying to hide behind her hair again, Nadia and Elodie were chatting about people they knew at school, and Luc and Halle were still making eyes at each other. A grape flew from somewhere, and landed in Thea's mashed potatoes. She gave Isak, who was looking rather guilty, a glare, and plucked it out.

As much as they annoyed her sometimes, Thea loved her family.

* * *

_Los Angeles International Airport, Angeles, June 22nd, 1:03pm_

_Isla Grant, Angeles, 2_

Isla made her way through the airport, leather carry on bag slung over her shoulder. As she made her way towards the baggage claim, she kept an eye out for her sister, who had promised she would meet Isla at the airport.

She finally spotted Darcy, who was waiting in a lounge near the baggage claim, and gave her a wave, before hurrying over to hug her. It had been a while since she had seen Darcy. Isla didn't come back from Paris, where she had been living with Aunt Gemma for the past three years, very often.

The two sisters hugged briefly. "How was your flight?" Darcy asked.

"It was fine. Long, of course." She started towards the baggage claim.

Darcy nodded, and followed Isla. "I'm sure it was."

"Why were Dad and Mama so insistent that I come back from Paris this week? Do you know?"

A flash of something crossed Darcy's face, but she covered it up quickly. "They'll tell you when we get home."

"Oh, so you do know? Just go ahead and tell me."

Darcy glanced around the baggage claim, at all the people standing nearby as they waited for Isla's bags to appear. "Not here."

"In the car then."

Darcy chewed on her lip for a moment. "Alright."

They waited in silence until Isla's bags appeared. Isla took one of her suitcases, and Darcy took the other. They made their way out of the airport, and towards where the driver had parked the car.

The driver loaded up Isla's bags and opened the door to the back seat for them, before getting in the front seat, and heading out of the airport parking lots, towards the Grant family house.

Isla turned to Darcy. "Alright. Come on and tell me now."

Darcy hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, before eventually deciding to just blurt it out. "I'm pregnant."

Isla was going to be an aunt. She could hardly believe it. "Oh, congratulations." Then she realized. She hadn't heard any news of a wedding, or an engagement, or even a relationship. "Who's the father?"

Darcy shook her head. "Not in the picture."

Oh. Isla knew what that meant. Even though the law against premarital sex had technically been repealed shortly after King William had taken the throne, having a child out of wedlock still came with a lot of stigma attached. If the father was willing to be around, he and Darcy could marry quickly and spare her the shame. But since he wasn't, Darcy could do nothing but face the consequences.

Isla had to wonder what this had to do with her. Why did Darcy's pregnancy mean she had to come back from Paris?

Her question was answered as soon as she arrived at home. Her parents were both waiting in the living room. As soon as she sat down on the couch and smoothed out her skirt, her father began.

"Did Darcy already tell you the news?"

Isla nodded.

"And you know what that means for her. For our family."

Isla nodded again. She knew. It was very important to maintain the appearance of their family. She had known that from a young age.

She wondered if they were going to send Darcy off to keep her out of the spotlight, like they had sent her off when they had wanted to brush something she had done under the rug.

"We've come up with a plan to handle this and keep the spotlight off Darcy." Her father paused for a moment. "We've entered you in the Selection. I already have confirmation that you'll be in, of course. You're going to do your best to stay in for as long as possible, to make sure that no one notices that Darcy has taken a step back from public life. Do you understand?"

How dare they? They had just entered her, without even asking her? Without giving her the chance to say no? How could they do that? Isla opened her mouth to tell her parents exactly what she thought of this plan, but she caught sight of Darcy's face. The fear was obvious on it. Once again, Isla thought of the social consequences of what had happened. Darcy would need support, because everything was about to change for her. And all of that would be easier if there wasn't a spotlight on her.

"Alright," she said instead. She would do this, for Darcy's sake, not for her family's image.

* * *

**AN: This was originally supposed to be Chapter 4, but I decided to reshuffle a little bit. It's chronologically out of place, but the dates should keep anyone from being confused.**

**The characters introduced in this chapter, in order of appearance, are by jenhen48, IndianaNovak, RosemaryAlysse, and MissArtsy. Let me know how I did with your characters! As soon as I get all the Selected in, I'll post a full list on my profile.**

**PoV length does not reflect staying power in the story. The only thing indicated by PoV length is how much space it took me to reveal everything I wanted to reveal upfront.**

**There is now a deadline for submitting characters. Officially I need all your characters by February 21st, so I can write an introductory PoV for them, but if I still have open spots after that, I'll accept characters until February 28th.**

**I have a pinterest board for this story. My username on Pinterest is the same as it is here, so it should be easy to find.**


	6. Chapter 6

Smith Family Home, Midston, June 28th, 7:54pm

Florida Smith, Midston, 2

Flo was sitting on the couch in the living room, laptop in her lap. But her eyes were glued to the TV screen. Just a few more minutes until the Report began. She had submitted a form, of course. There was no way she was going to pass up an opportunity to get an insider's view on the royal family, and find out exactly what was up with them. But even if she didn't get in, it was still important to monitor the Selection from the outside. How else was she supposed to make sure everyone knew the truth about the Illéan government, and what the Selection was trying to hide?

She looked away from the TV, and scrolled through another page of comments on her blog, occasionally responding to comments that she thought deserved a response. Then she heard the sound of the Illéan national anthem playing over the TV speakers, and she looked up at the screen. The Report was starting.

Michelle, the host, welcomed everyone to the Report, and opened the first envelope. She announced the first name. "Cassandra White, 2, from Allens." It quickly became obvious to Flo that the names were being announced in province order, so she returned her attention to going through comments, half listening to the names of the Selected, until she heard "Gemma Albright, 2, from Likely," announced.

She waited as Michelle slowly opened the envelope marked Midston. "And from Midston we have Florida Smith, 2." Her picture flashed up on the screen. She studied Prince Elijah's face for a reaction as her name was announced, but his face hardly changed at all.

Flo could hardly believe it, even though her picture was up on the screen. She couldn't believe that she had done it. She had snuck in to the Selection, and nobody had suspected a thing! She would have a chance to collect evidence about the royal family up close, and inform people about the truth behind all of their lies. She began to write out a post for her blog, knowing that everyone would want her opinion on the beginning of the Selection.

The Selection - Who Is The Lizard?

One of the Selected girls is a lizard, it has to be true. Prince Elijah simply couldn't marry a girl who isn't a lizard. So one of the girls has been planted in the Selection for him to choose in the end. The only question is who is it?

The lizard is most likely a Two from a good family, with some sort of tie to the royal family or the Illéan government. That narrows things down somewhat, but there's a number of girls in the Selection who could fit that description. I'll be monitoring the Selection as it continues to unfold, of course, and bringing you the real truth about what's going on in Illéa today.

She hit post, and set her laptop aside. She'd have to work on her theory about which of the Selected specifically was the lizard later, after she actually met the other Selected. She was going to meet the other Selected! She was going to be up close and personal with the Illéan government, close enough to uncover all their dirty secrets. This was going to be incredible!

* * *

Albright Family Home, Likely, June 29th, 10:10am

Gemma Albright, Likely, 2

Gemma hummed slightly to herself as she watered her plants. She was still reeling from the shock of hearing her name announced as the Selected from Likely the night before, when she hadn't even entered the Selection, but the plants still needed to be watered.

There was a knock on her door, and she called out, "Come in."

Thea stepped into the room. "Hey Gemmy."

"Don't call me that." Gemma moved to water another plant. "Haven't I told you I hate that nickname?"

Thea shrugged. "I can't believe you got into the Selection."

Gemma sighed. She liked it better when Thea was at school in Waverly. She had had enough of trying to compete with her sister. She wanted her father's love, of course she did, but there was no chance she could get it with perfect Thea who was everything he wanted in a daughter around. "Me neither. Especially since I didn't even enter."

"Dad is pleased."

Gemma couldn't help the surge of happiness at the thought that her father was pleased with her, even though she hadn't actually done anything. "That's good." She poured the last of the water over the last one of her plants, and set the watering can aside.

"He wants you to come and talk to him."

"Oh? Really?"

Thea nodded. "He asked me to come down and ask you."

That was new. Usually she got sent to ask Thea to do things. "Alright. I guess I'd better go see him."

She made her way out of her room and up the stairs to the third floor of the house, where her father had his office. He was sitting at his desk, looking over some papers. He glanced up when she came in. "Gemma! I assume you saw that you're in the Selection."

She nodded, not quite looking him in the eyes. "I'm not sure how, I didn't even enter."

"Oh, I entered you. It was the perfect opportunity for you. You could get a good marriage out of this, and it's good for the family to have one of our own in an event as important as the Selection. Thea is so busy with school, and Stella is off with your mother, so I went ahead and entered you."

Great. She was in third place. As usual. She tried not to sigh. She wanted to please her father still, and this was her chance, so she might as well take it, even though she was the third choice.

Her father continued. "I have something for you." He opened a drawer, and pulled out a small box, which he passed to her.

She opened it. Inside was a pair of nice earrings. They were more Thea's style than hers, but she smiled anyway. "Thank you." She would probably never wear them, but that didn't matter.

"You should get back downstairs. I expect we'll be getting a call from the palace any time now."

Gemma nodded, and headed out of the office, back to her bedroom. She sat down on her bed, and reached for her phone. She hadn't missed any calls, which was good. She scrolled through her contacts, her finger hovering briefly over Stella's name, as if she was going to call her and tell her sister all about the Selection. But she didn't hit the button. Stella was busy, off touring in New Asia the last Gemma had heard, and they had never had much of a relationship anyway. Certainly not the kind of relationship where Gemma could call her to talk about her grand re-introduction to society.

Gemma set her phone down, and picked up the book she had been reading off her nightstand. It was a romance novel, coincidentally about a prince. Gemma could only read a few pages of the book before she got lost in her thoughts. The prince in this book was a classic Prince Charming type, but she knew better than to think that that was Prince Elijah. She knew the rumors about him, of course she did. Last fall every gossip magazine in the country had reported on his supposed affair with a French princess, and he was constantly photographed at parties that involved copious amounts of alcohol. And she had personally witnessed the time he had accidentally sworn several times on live television. Definitely not the Prince Charming type.

The phone rang. And it hardly stopped ringing for the next week.

* * *

Harper Family Home, Kent, July 2nd, 11:34am

Violet Harper, 5, Kent

The sound of a crying toddler distracted Violet from her painting. She set her paintbrush aside, and reached down to scoop up her nephew Dorian. He cried a lot when his mother and Violet's sister, Aria, wasn't around, but Aria had to go to rehearsals for the orchestra, so Violet was left alone with him.

Usually his sister Etta would entertain him while Violet painted, but since it was a Tuesday morning, Etta was in school. Violet gently rocked back and forth, trying to sooth Dorian. It probably wasn't going to do a whole lot of good, but maybe he'd calm down and she could get back to painting. She needed to finish this piece before she left for the Selection, in the hopes it would bring in enough cash that they could afford a babysitter for Etta and Dorian while Dad and Aria were playing in the orchestra, until the first check from the Selection came through.

There was a knock on the door downstairs, and Violet hurried to answer it, Dorian still on her hip, crying. Her red floral patterned skirt swished as she walked. She took a peek through the window on the front door, and, seeing that it was a representative from the palace, went ahead and opened the door.

The representative from the palace was a short woman, with long brown hair and immaculate makeup. She was dressed in a white button-up shirt that was tucked into her black dress pants. She was holding a red file folder stamped with the emblem of the Illéan monarchy. "Are you Violet Harper?"

Violet nodded.

The woman gave Dorian a dirty look, and held out a hand for Violet to shake. "I'm Ada Fowler, from the palace to go over a few things with you. I assume you've already spoken to another representative, and have been informed of the rules of participation in the Selection?"

Violet reached out and shook her hand, shifting Dorian slightly on her hip. "I have."

Ada gave Dorian another dirty look. "Is the child yours?"

Violet shook her head. "He's my nephew, I'm just babysitting while my sister is at work." She bounced him lightly, in the hopes that would get him to be quiet so she could hold a conversation with Ada without having to talk over a crying toddler.

"May I come inside?" Ada stepped in without waiting for Violet to nod. Violet shut the door behind her as Ada took a seat at the battered wooden kitchen table. Violet sat down at the table as well, with Dorian in her lap. He was finally starting to quiet down, which was good.

"I'm supposed to go over the rules with you again."

Violet nodded, and shifted Dorian on her lap. She had received a sheet with the rules on it, but she had hardly skimmed it, and then it had gotten lost somewhere in her painting supplies.

Ada pulled out a sheet, and began reading. "The contestant cannot leave the palace of her own accord. She can only be dismissed by the prince himself."

Violet immediately had a problem with that rule, and she wasn't afraid to say so. "That doesn't seem to right to me. The prince doesn't own us."

Ada cleared her throat. She clearly hadn't been expecting anyone to complain about the rules. "I was just about to say that Prince Elijah is highly unlikely to make anyone who doesn't want to be there stay. Even his father dismissed girls who requested to leave. The rule is simply to ensure that contestants don't wander off."

That made sense. Violet nodded. "I suppose that's alright."

Ada continued through the other rules, about the timeline for the Selection, the rule forbidding contestants from arranging their own time with the prince, the rule about not sabotaging other contestants, and the rule about only having a romantic relationship with the prince. Violet noticed right away that the rule didn't say anything about being executed for it, however. Good. Illèa might finally be getting with the times. Executing people for falling in love was absolutely wrong.

Ada went through the rule about obeying all of Illéa's written laws, the rule about treating photographers correctly, the rule about compensation, the rule about aids for Selected who were not formerly twos or threes, the rules about the Elite, the rule about caste elevation, and the reminder of what exactly winning the Selection would mean.

Violet immediately noticed that two rules from past Selections had been left off. The virgin rule made sense, since the law had been repealed, but the absence of the rule about not be able to tell the prince no was a surprise. "We're allowed to tell the prince no?" She asked, surprised.

Ada shuffled her papers. "You are permitted to decline anything you wish to decline, but your days in the Selection may be numbered if you start refusing to spend time with the prince."

Violet nodded. She hadn't expected that. But it was good to know.

Ada passed her a pile of papers and a pen. "You need to sign all of these."

Violet began slowly reading every paper put in front of her, to make sure that she wasn't signing anything she didn't agree with. She wasn't afraid to kick up a fuss if Ada was trying to make her sign something that was against her personal morals. Ada watched as she read through the papers, and kept glancing at her watch as if she had somewhere else to be and Violet was slowing her down, but Violet just kept reading. She wouldn't sign anything without knowing what she could be signing away.

* * *

Runway, Belcourt, July 2nd, 6:13pm

Lydie Tyler, 4, Belcourt

The last load of tourists for the day got out of the plane, but Lydie didn't bother to get out of the cockpit. Just like every Tuesday. But this Tuesday was different, because it would hopefully be the last such flight Lydie would ever make.

Her brother James came up to the plane as soon as the tourists were out of sight, and loaded several boxes in. Lydie didn't ask what was in them. She didn't want to know. James climbed up next to her in the plane. She wordlessly offered him a headset. They had made this flight once a week for six months, they both knew where the other stood, they didn't need to talk about it.

Lydie brought the plane around, then started it hurtling down the runway. They left the ground with room to spare, and started towards another town in nearby Dakota.

James was silent for the entire flight. That wasn't typical, for either of them. Usually they would both talk anyone's ear off, but these weekly trips were the one exception.

Lydie flew over the construction site, where some company had moved in after the land had been declared to no longer be under government protection. That was the whole reason for this. Once that had been pristine mountains, but now it was an ugly torn up worksite. It was cutting into tourism profits, and while Lydie's family's business was too well established to go under that easily, there were plenty of others in the area that hadn't been well established enough.

It wasn't a long flight, and soon they had landed. Lydie wordlessly helped James unload the boxes. There was a man waiting for them there, who would be coordinating things so the boxes would get to their final destination successfully. He greeted James enthusiastically, by clapping him on the shoulder. "Hey! How are things over in Jackson?"

"Thing are fine," James responded.

He caught sight of Lydie. "Ah, there's our girl! The Selected who will be giving us the inside story!" He reached out to clap her on the shoulder. "The name's Uncle Sam. You're doing a wonderful thing here. We have to fight to win our freedom from those who couldn't care less about us. And we will. By any means necessary."

By any means necessary. Those words terrified her. That meant fighting. Violence. Her family could potentially be killed. Everyone she loved, close to everyone she knew, could be killed. Lydie didn't exactly have a lot of regard for her own safety, but war was where she drew the line.

She wouldn't be helping the rebellion, she had decided that the moment her name was announced. She wouldn't even be speaking to her family after she reached the palace, so there was no chance she would be spying for them. She was done with the rebellion, done with treason.

But was she? She couldn't shake the feeling that she was betraying her family just by thinking that. She didn't want to disappoint them. She loved her family, could she really betray them?

But could she continue to betray her country?

* * *

Bennet Family Home, Fennley, July 5th, 2:14pm

Brielle Bennet, 2, Fennley

Brielle set another songbook aside, deciding not to take that one with her after all. There was only so much she could fit in the standard bag all the Selected were given to pack their things in. She still couldn't find it in her to feel any real excitement or anything about the Selection. She hadn't even entered, her mother had done it for her, so she hadn't known until her name had been announced.

She reminded herself that the Selection would be good for her career, that it would get everybody talking about her, which was exactly what she wanted. She loved to have people talking about her.

She set another book aside as she reminded herself of all of those things. Plenty of time had passed since her breakup with Beck. She ought to be back to herself by now. She needed to get back to herself, for the sake of her career.

But Beck had left invisible marks that would take a lot longer to heal than the bruises had. She reached for the binder of newspaper clippings about her career, and took a moment to flip through it before she put it in the bag. There was an article from the opening night of the Siren, a broadway show she had starred in when she was sixteen, alongside dozens of other articles that had been written about her over the years.

Brielle hadn't saved a single one of the articles about Beck, however. That wasn't exactly a fond memory. For the first time, she had hated the media. It seemed as if they could find nothing to talk about but how Beck had hit her and they were breaking up.

She should have broken up with him well before he ever hit her in public.

Elle was distracted from her thoughts when Heather came into her bedroom, carrying a stack of gossip magazines. "Okay, I picked up every single magazine that has even a word to say about you." She sat down on Brielle's bed and spread them out. "Illéa in Focus did a special on all the Selected, and there's only like five lines about you in there, and half of them are about Beck."

She held up another magazine. "High Society has a paragraph about you, but it mostly talks about some distant member of the German royal family who got in, and some tech guy's daughter." She tossed it down on the bed. "Entertainment Lifestyle has four paragraphs about you, but half of it's about how you used to date Beck."

"Highlight Magazine has you ranked fifth in their top ten for potential Selection winners, and Girl's Guide has you in sixth. Love and Style is ranking which Selected they think will be best dressed, and you come in ninth. Which one do you want to trash first?"

Brielle reached for the copy of Love and Style. "We'll start here." The less she thought about Beck the better. She needed to get her confidence in herself back, and fast.

* * *

AN: The girls introduced in this chapter, in order of appearance are Florida Smith by Millyna, Gemma Albright by CoolForTheSummer, Violet Harper by bumblebee, Lydie Tyler by Shades111, and Brielle Bennet by BradiLain. Let me know how I did with your girls!

If you noticed that from Eli's perspective the Report is on at six, but from Flo's perspective it was on at eight, that's completely on purpose and because of time zones. There's a legitimate plot reason for the rule changes, which will probably come up later on down the line.

I'm using the names of modern social media sites, for simplicity's sake, but none of those actually exist in Illéa. All of our current technology was destroyed and they had to start from scratch, so there are sites with similar functions but different names in use in Illéa.

The royal family were supposed to be Shreaves, Langworthy is Evelyn's maiden name, I just used it as a placeholder before I finished my version of the family tree and forgot to change it back.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Illéa in Focus**_

_**July 5th**_

_**The Selected: A Sneak Peek At The Thirty-Five Girls Chosen**_

All across the country, the Selected have been a matter of curiosity for anyone in Illéa with a pulse. Fortunately, we here at Illéa in Focus have found out all about them, just in time to give you a sneak peak before they arrive in Angeles tomorrow.

From the province of Angeles itself comes Lady Isla Grant, Two, daughter of politician Taylor Grant. She is twenty-two years old, and has been living in Paris since the age of nineteen. She's currently pursuing a master's degree in art history. Rumor has it that Prince Elijah personally sponsors artists throughout Illéa. Will they hit it off over a shared interest?

Another politician's daughter, Lady Florida Smith, Two, hails from Midston, where her father is governor. She just recently turned nineteen, and is currently taking a gap year.

Lady Lennox Flecks, Six is another one of the younger Selected. She's nineteen years old, and comes from Columbia, where she works as a waitress. She seems a little young for Prince Elijah, but perhaps they'll find common ground.

From Clermont, home of beaches, sun, and swamp comes Lady Adelynn Sailor, Six. She's twenty-two years old, and works as a flight attendant with Illéa Air, and as a lifeguard in her home province.

Very different from Clermont is the northern province Labrador, where Lady Wilhelmina von Schmidt, Two, lives. Lady Wilhelmina originally comes from the German Federation, where she is tenth in the line of succession for the German throne, and a cousin of current German monarch King Hans. She moved to Illéa and was granted dual citizenship at the age of eighteen. Lady Wilhelmina is twenty-three years of age and works as a model.

Lady Angelique West, Two, is known for her roles in several beloved movies, and hails from Waverly. She is twenty years old. Will she have a romance worthy of the big screen with Illéa's crown prince?

Another actress, although on the stage instead of the screen, Lady Brielle Bennet, Two, from Fennley, is known for playing the leading role in musical the Siren. Recently, Lady Brielle has had a rather rough time with love. She broke up with hip-hop star and boyfriend Beck Black after he hit her at a party, but it appears she's giving romance another chance through the Selection. She is twenty-two years old.

Beautiful redhead Lady Cassandra White, Two, is the daughter of an Illéan ambassador, and also has certain ties to the German throne through her father's work. The twenty-two year old comes from Allens, where she still lives with her father.

Preschool teacher Lady Elaine Walton, Three, from Carolina, seems very sweet at first glance. Perhaps this twenty-three year old will be the one to tame the wild Prince Elijah?

Lady Gemma Albright, Two, from Likely, daughter of Kallen Albright and former actress Wilhelmina Hawthorne, and sister of pop singer Stella Albright, hasn't been often seen in public since her teen years. She'll be turning twenty-one in two days, coincidentally on the day that she will first meet Prince Elijah. Will her birthday win her some extra attention?

Lady Liath Ereshkigal, Two, daughter of New Asian action star Lee Hui-ying and younger sister of Uaine Ereshkigal, who appears to have followed in his father's footsteps. Liath seems to have taken more of a role behind the camera. She and her group, who are known as the Verge team, photograph themselves climbing buildings throughout Sonage. The twenty year old is most well known for her role in the brief viral craze "The Photo" and "What She Did To Get The Photo".

From Sumner, Lady Thea Verdant, Four, is a chef. The twenty year old has a large family, with nine siblings. It must be wonderful to have so many people rooting for you back home!

Lady Violet Harper, Five, from Kent, is an artist with a funky sense of style. It's exciting to see what her style will be like in the palace. She's the oldest of the Selected, at twenty-six years old.

Lady Marlee Weston, Three, is a songwriter, hailing from Hansport. She loves music, and parties. Will she and Prince Elijah find common ground in their mutual love for copious amounts of alcohol?

From Belcourt, Lady Lydie Tyler, Four, works as a pilot, flying plane tours of the mountains near the lodge and tour outfitter owned by her family. She loves to hike and camp in her free time. It's uncertain how much good her hiking skills will do her in the palace, but that still remains to be seen.

From Calgary comes a lovely ballerina, Lady Helena Tomas, Two, who is a member of the Royal Dance Company. She began life as a five, but through sheer hard work made her way up to her current position. She's a very sweet girl, and someone with her work ethic and personality would be an excellent queen.

A wild coincidence led to twin sisters Lady Ixchel Hamilton and Lady Yunuen Hamilton, Threes, from Honduragua and Tammins respectively, both being Selected. Ixchel is currently studying law, and her sister Yunuen is studying nursing. Will the two sisters cause drama among the Selected? Or are they the best of friends?

Continued on page ten...

* * *

_Lindsey's Office, The Palace, Angeles, July 3rd, 10:27am_

_Elijah_

"—The Selected will be arriving throughout the day on Saturday, and we'll move into makeovers and interviews. They'll have a tour of the palace, and then dinner as a group. After dinner they'll have a first protocol lesson, in preparation for Sunday, when you'll be doing first meetings right after breakfast." Lindsey, the Selection coordinator, paused. "Are you even listening to me, your highness?"

Eli, in fact, was not listening. He was staring out the window, lost in thought about something else entirely, one hand wrapped around a now cold cup of coffee. "No. Sorry." He took a sip of his coffee, even though it was cold. Caffeine was caffeine. He forced himself to return his attention to what Lindsey was saying.

"As I was saying, you'll be doing the first meetings with the Selected after breakfast on Sunday. You'll be elsewhere during breakfast and dinner on Saturday and Sunday, but after that you and your family will be joining the Selected for meals."

Eli nodded absently, so Lindsey would think he was listening. He wasn't, he was really just staring out the window, trying to get the footage sent from Dominica out of his head. Thousands of protestors in the streets with signs, protesting what the Illéan government was doing to them.

One sign had stuck out to him. It had said something about the Selection, calling it out for what it really was. An utterly stupid, expensive, objectifying tradition. And of course, they were absolutely correct. But Eli had known that before. And this hadn't exactly been his choice. But that was just an excuse. He ought to be fighting this harder.

But he found that he didn't have the fight left in him. The fight had died a long time ago.

Maybe even before she had.

He could make all the excuses he wanted, he could tell himself that anyone would give up under relentless pressure and stress, he could say that he was trying his best, he could think anything that would help him fall asleep at night, but the truth was that he had given up.

In Dominica they hadn't given up. They stood up and demanded some kind of change, even though their lives were hard, probably harder than Eli's. Eli never had to worry about eating tomorrow, and never would. And he claimed he didn't have the energy to fight anymore.

But even though he felt guilty, he couldn't find the willpower to start fighting again. He was just tired. He wanted to crawl in bed somewhere and sleep for a month, and maybe then he'd feel like fighting again.

He returned his attention to what Lindsey was saying. "—The first Report of the Selection, which will be on that Friday."

Fuck, he had missed everything, and now he was lost. Would it be better to pretend he knew what she was saying, or make her go back over it again? He felt like the least he could do was actually take the Selection seriously, so he said, "Can you start over again? I missed everything you said after you talked about meals."

Lindsey sighed, but began again, as instructed. "They'll have protocol lessons throughout the first week, and I highly suggest that you go on at least two dates. I would suggest one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. No eliminations will take place until after the first Report of the Selection, which will be on that Friday. After that you'll have to eliminate at least five girls…"

Lindsey spent another half hour talking about the first month of the Selection and what would happen during it. He attended a council meeting, then ate lunch by himself in the quietest spot he could find. It wasn't particularly quiet, since the palace seemed to be filled with new people in for the Selection, and everyone seemed to need a peice of Eli's time, but it was the closest he could get.

After lunch, he made his way into his office. There was a pile of reports on his desk, as usual. But fuck that. He turned around and left his office as soon as he had come in. He needed to do something else, anything else. He still felt guilty about having given up, and while a voice deep down told him that blowing off his responsibilities wasn't going to make him feel like a better person, it was worth a shot.

He headed back to his room to change out of his formal clothes. After changing, he opened the window, and let the breeze blow in. When was the last time he had actually been outside? It had been a while.

He was seized by a sudden desire to go to the beach, stand in the ocean and let the waves hit him, in the hopes it would make him actually feel alive, but with the number of people swarming around his chances of manages to get off the palace grounds unnoticed were practically zero.

The duck pond would have to be good enough. He made his way down through the palace and out into the gardens, somehow magically avoiding anyone who wanted anything from him.

The duck pond was more for show than anything else. There were ducks living in it, as the name suggested, but it wasn't much of a pond, in Eli's opinion. It was too perfectly shaped, with the plant life around it too trimmed and manicured, the bottom neatly coated in rocks instead of silt and mud. The pond narrowed at the perfect spot for an elegant wrought iron bridge to span it, then widened again on the other side.

He sat down cross legged on the old wooden dock that extended out over the pond on one side. There had at one time been a small boat tied up at the dock, but it was long gone now. He and Micah had been responsible for that, when they had given a cat a mostly successful Viking funeral.

The duck pond wasn't really much of a replacement for a trip to the ocean. Instead of infinite, soothing, expanse of water, Eli was staring at a carefully maintained illusion of something natural. It was fake, just like everything else. He sighed to himself. Thousands of people were living in poverty and he was complaining about having to look at landscaping paid for by their taxes. He was an awful person.

He closed his eyes, and tried not to think about it. Getting out of the palace was supposed to make him feel better, not just give him a chance to angst some more with better scenery.

The dock shook as someone else stepped onto it. Eli opened his eyes and turned around. Charles. Just fantastic. "The fuck you want?" Rude, but he was not in a mood to deal with Charles today.

"Just wondering why you're slacking off again," he said, sounding as if he thought he was far superior to Eli.

Eli once again reminded himself that he was supposed to be mature, and not get pissed off when Charles tried to start shit. It was so very tempting to snap back. "I'm just taking a break."

"A break?"

"Yeah, a break. I've worked all morning."

"Wasn't it a break when you ate lunch?"

Eli didn't really have an argument for that. Sure, he had worked during lunch, but not very much. But he knew he wouldn't actually accomplish anything if he locked himself in his office with the pile of reports, so this seemed like the best alternative. "Just go away. Please." He knew perfectly well that the defeat he felt was obvious in his voice, but he didn't give a shit anymore. He turned away, back to staring at the surface of the pond. A duck quacked nearby, and Eli mentally cussed it out for interrupting his bad mood.

Charles seemed to be scared off by hearing emotion so obviously in Eli's voice. Usually Eli did a better job of hiding what he felt. Eli heard his footsteps as he turned and left. Thank God.

Eli closed his eyes, only to open them again a few moments later when the dock shook, and he heard Mel's enthusiastic voice behind him. "Eli! Do you want to feed the ducks with us?"

He turned, hastily plastering on a smile. Mel didn't deserve to see his worst moods.

Brea hurried down the path behind her. When she spotted Eli, she said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone would be down here. We don't have to feed the ducks today."

Eli shook his head. "It's fine." He would much rather be left alone to brood, but Mel would be disappointed if he said. And anyway, he could probably use a distraction. "I'll feed the ducks with you."

Mel grinned, and sat down on the dock next to Eli. Brea handed them both bread, and they tore it into pieces. Mel actually fed the ducks, while Eli turned it into a game of trying to hit the ducks with the bread. He managed to hit one duck in the head, and counted it as a victory.

After a while, Mel turned to him. "Why are you sad?"

Eli turned to her, a little bit startled. "Who said I was sad?"

"You did. You and Micah were talking, and you told him that you were sad."

Eli did remember that conversation, but he hadn't known that Mel was anywhere nearby. He really hoped she hadn't heard the whole thing, he had said a lot of things he wouldn't have said if he had known she was within listening distance. "That was a private conversation, you weren't supposed to be listening."

She shrugged. "Well, I was."

"Do me a favor, then, and don't tell anyone else about what you heard." He didn't need Mel spreading his personal problems all over the palace.

She nodded. "Okay. Why's it a secret? That you're sad?"

He wasn't really sad at all, more like empty and tired, but he didn't correct her. Someday she might understand. Eli hoped she never would. "Because it's none of anyone else's business how I feel."

She nodded again. "It's the rules, isn't it? Always look good. Someone is always watching you."

Eli nodded. "Something like that." It made him incredibly sad that Mel was learning to hide herself for the camera, just like he and Jenn and Charles had all learned to as young children. She seemed far too young to be worrying about looking good in the media like that. "I'm not watching you. I want you to know that. You don't have to fake anything for me."

"I'm not watching you either." She looked at him expectantly, as though she expected him to spill his darkest secrets for her.

He smiled at her. It was sweet of her, but she was seven. "In a few years I'll tell you."

She made a face at him. "I'll understand."

"I don't want you to understand. You'll be happier, if you don't." Even though it was unrealistic, Eli really wished she never would.

"I just want to help." She sighed. "How many years is a few?"

"I know. Thank you." He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe when you're thirteen or fourteen I'll tell you." If she turned out to be anything like him, that was.

"That's a long time," she complained. "I want to do something now. I want you to tell me things, like you tell Jenn things."

Eli tossed a piece of bread at a duck, and missed. The bread fell into the water with a tiny splash, and a different duck dove to retrieve it. "You are doing something."

She nodded, and tossed in a handful of small pieces of bread. "I'm going to go to the treehouse. Want to come?" He and Micah had hung out in the treehouse when they had been her age. Eli hadn't climbed up there in years. It was nice, that Mel had found it. Continuing the tradition. She stood up, and sprinted back across the dock, shaking it with every step. Her bright pink sneakers didn't match her dress, Eli noticed. He wondered, cynically, how long it would be before she had the spirit crushed out of her like he had.

She leapt up onto the grass. "Are you coming, Eli?"

He nodded, and stood up. He sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to crush her. For a while, she could live in a world that was actually happy.

He almost wanted to laugh at that thought. She had never lived in a happy world, not from the moment she had been born.

Eli spent several hours with Mel. It was actually the most fun he had had in weeks. It was nice to take a break from stressing himself out over the Selection and riots and dead ex-girlfriends.

But eventually he had to go back to work. He quickly skimmed a series of reports, before heading towards one of the smaller meeting rooms. He was the last to arrive, which earned him a dirty look from his father, but he wasn't actually late.

He sat down next to Jenn, and surveyed the people seated around the table. It wasn't a full council meeting. The Councilor of Foreign Affairs, Councilor of Agriculture, Councilor of Transportation, and Councilor of Energy were notably absent, and Lydia Burns, director of the Illéan Intelligence Network, was seated next to Councilor Clemons, Councilor of Labor.

Councilor Hart opened the meeting. "We've come together to discuss the issue of the riots in Dominica, and what might be done to settle the unrest."

General Allen made the obvious suggestion. "We should just send in the military to stop them. That'll shut them down." Of course he would say that.

Eli could think of several reasons why that was a terrible idea, but he knew better than to point that out. Nobody would listen to him. Fortunately, Councilor White appeared to be thinking along the same lines. "The protests in Dominica have already gained a lot of attention. To go in with the military and end them in a brutal manner would attract even more attention, and it would be impossible to stop word from getting out."

Councilor Turner nodded. "I agree with Councilor White. Ending a protest about oppression and perceived lack of opportunity by sending in the military wouldn't do the royal family's image any favors."

"I disagree. The important thing is to get the protests stopped before they escalate and we lose the province altogether. I agree with General Allen." If Eli remembered correctly, Councilor Williamson had a large number of business holdings in Dominica. Of course he would want to send in the military, he was concerned about his the consequences to his own pockets.

Councilor Cook flipped through a folder in front of him. "If I may make a suggestion, your majesty?"

Dad nodded. "Let's hear it."

"Maybe it would be better to throw them a bone, so to speak." He pulled a page out of the folder, and passed it down the table towards Dad. "A reinstatement of the Merit Advancement program might do the trick." Not even a fucking Council meeting was safe from reminders of her. It had been because of that program that he had met Isabelle, after all. Without it, she would have been a seven, and would never have been able to attend college, which was where they had met. He pushed that thought away. He didn't need to think about that right now.

Dad spent a moment surveying the paper, before looking up at Councilor Cook. "And where is the money to reinstate this program coming from?"

"Out of the military—"

General Middleton cut him off. "Absolutely not. The military budget is at the bare minimum required for proper operation already. Any more cuts will absolutely cripple us."

Dad nodded. "There's simply no free funds for it." He passed the paper back to Councilor Cook, who slid it back into his folder.

"Perhaps there's some other bone we could throw them," Councilor Clemons suggested.

"Don't forget budget concerns." Councilor Martin shuffled his papers around. "There are no free funds, and practically nowhere that funds could be pulled from."

"Perhaps mobile medical clinics for the lower castes?" Councilor White offered. "Once the first five Selected are eliminated, the compensation could go towards that instead."

Councilor Martin shook his head. "The compensation for the Selected is coming out of the Royal Family's funds from personal investments. Due to the anti-corruption laws, it can't be used in an official government capacity."

Councilor White looked disappointed that his idea had been shot down so easy, until Jenn spoke. "But it could be used in a less official capacity," she pointed out. "For example, if I made medical care for the lower castes a personal philanthropy project, those funds could be used."

Oh, that was smart. Eli hadn't thought of that. Apparently Councilor Martin hadn't either, because his eyes lit up. "That would be an acceptable use of those funds, yes."

Even Dad seemed to like that idea, and he never liked anything Jenn or Eli did. He was looking at Jenn with actual pride in his eyes. Dad always loved it when there was a way to get around the rules. Eli glanced at Jenn. Nobody else would be able to read her expression, since no one else knew her as well as he did, but he could tell exactly what she was thinking. If Dad really knew her, would she still be getting that proud look? Probably not. He wondered the same thing whenever Dad was actually pleased with him, although for very different reasons. Although it wasn't like Dad was actually pleased with him very often.

"That's an idea that can definitely be in consideration." Dad gestured towards Councilor Hart, who made a note of it.

"Aren't you all forgetting something?" Director Burns sounded vaguely amused by the proceedings.

Dad turned to look at her. "What are we forgetting, Director Burns? Enlighten us." He gave her a condescending smile. He hadn't wanted her to be appointed as director of the Illéan Intelligence Network. Eli had fought long and hard for her, back when he had still had the energy to fight, and even now, Dad didn't like to admit that she was, in fact, good at her job.

"Historically, such movements are generally unstable and not actually prepared to govern anything after they achieve their goal. Potentially, the movement will end up destabilizing itself so much that it simply falls apart. Otherwise, it's just a propaganda game. Present the protesters as dangerous, unstable, and wanting to take the people outside of the safety of the Illéan government, which protects everyone from the dangers of chaos and disorder. With your permission, your majesty, I can send a team of agents to Dominica to collect evidence to support this position."

Dad nodded slowly. "I suppose that's right," he admitted begrudgingly. "You may send the agents, Director Burns."

She briefly acknowledged his permission with a nod. "I've already prepared a plan for the operation." She passed a heavy grey file folder, embossed with the emblem of the Illéan Intelligence Network, down the table to him.

Dad spent a few minutes reviewing the folder before looking up and saying, "This seems like a good plan to deal with the situation. For the moment, this will be our approach to the issue. We will intensify our propaganda campaign, using the intelligence Director Burns' agents bring in, and we will monitor the situation as it develops. No further action is necessary at this time." He stood up, ending the meeting.

General Allen and Councilor Williamson both looked as if they wanted to disagree, but they didn't dare disagree with the King once he had spoken. Disagreeing after Dad had made up his mind could only lead to consequences.

Eli made his way out of the meeting room, and headed back to his room. Jenn followed him without having to be asked. She sat down in his desk chair, while he sat on the foot of the bed. "So. What do you think?" She asked.

"What do I think about what?"

"I don't know. I know you have opinions."

"Well, we definitely shouldn't send in the military."

"You and I both agree on that one."

"And Councilor Williamson is going to be the first to go when the makeup of Council is up to me."

"I know, right? Everything he advises us to do directly benefits him somehow. That should be against the rules." She paused for a moment. "Do you think Director Burns is right?"

Eli shrugged. "Probably."

"You think they're right, don't you? To protest?"

He shrugged again. "I don't know." He kind of did, since he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, and someone should be fighting it. But what was the point anyway? He knew the government inside and out. Could anything ever really change?

Jenn didn't say anything, just picked a report up off Eli's desk and started reading. She didn't have all the answers either. That was somewhat comforting. He laid back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling while Jenn read in silence.

Eventually, she looked up from the report. "I transferred."

"What?"

"I transferred. I'll finish my final semester here in Angeles instead of in Waverly."

The reason why was obvious. She was transferring because of him. The farther away from Dad she was, the better off she was, so this was for him. "Thank you."

She nodded briefly. "Any time." She flipped another page of the report she was reading. "You'll make it."

Sometimes he wasn't so sure she was right.

* * *

**AN: The SYOC is now closed.** **Thank you so much for all the characters you've submitted! I love them all!**


	8. Chapter 8

_Middle Class Apartments, Hansport, July 6th, 7:20am_

_Marlee Weston, 3, Hansport_

Marlee woke up to a pounding headache and something rough and wet being dragged across her face. She opened her eyes to see Champagne, her golden retriever, licking her face. She groaned and pushed him away. She sat up slowly to see that she was lying on the couch in the apartment she shared with her twin brother Harry. She didn't remember exactly how she had ended up on the couch instead of in her own bed. Which meant she had probably had a great time the night before. Last night had been her last big hurrah before she left for the palace, and from what she could remember, it had been fantastic.

She stood up and made her way into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee, and happened to glance at the calendar attached to the side of the fridge with a magnet. She had originally had an appointment with a big pop star to talk about writing songs today, but that had been crossed out and replaced by the word 'SELECTION' in big capital letters. She glanced over at the clock to find out how much time she had left. Shit. It was almost 7:30 already, and the car to take her to the sendoff ceremony would be there at 7:45.

She hurried through making her coffee, and splashed in a little bit too much milk. She took a sip, and made a face. Definitely too much milk. She grabbed an aspirin from the medicine cabinet, and rinsed it down with another sip of coffee. She didn't have time to make a new cup, so this one would have to do.

She carried the cup with her into the bathroom, where she hurriedly brushed out her long brown hair, and then headed into her bedroom to get dressed. She pulled on the white shirt and black pants all the Selected were required to wear on the first day, and sat down on the edge of her bed to lace up a pair of heavy black boots that made her a good inch taller. She slid a couple of silver rings onto her fingers, and headed out of her bedroom.

Harry had just woken up, and was in the kitchen, blinking sleepily and waiting for his coffee to finish. Marlee dumped the remains of her cup of coffee in the sink, and grabbed a travel mug from the cabinet. "Are you coming to the sendoff this morning?"

Harry shook his head. "Sent you off last night, in my opinion." He grinned at her. "I'm going to stay in and recover. I don't really care to see Reese either." When the pot of coffee he was making finished, he held out a hand for Marlee's travel mug, and when she handed it to him, filled it up for her.

Marlee poured some milk into her coffee, more carefully than she had earlier, and screwed the top of her mug on. "Thanks."

Harry nodded. "No problem. Stay safe, Marlee."

"Feed and walk Champagne and Baileys while I'm gone." She took a sip from her travel mug.

"I will. Still can't believe you're doing this."

"Me neither." She shrugged. "But my name was called, so I might as well, right?" There was a knock on the door that had to be someone letting her know it was time to go. "That's my cue."

"Good luck. Make me a royal." Harry grinned at her. "Just kidding."

She rolled her eyes, punched him lightly in the shoulder, and made her way out of the apartment. She climbed into the backseat of the car waiting for her. She watched the crowd through the tinted windows as they pulled up to the park where the sendoff ceremony was to take place.

She got out of the car, and spotted her father standing next to her stepmother, Reese, who had a rather sour look on her face, and her stepsister, Ciara. Marlee had entered the Selection to annoy Reese, who had desperately wanted Ciara to get in.

Marlee continued to scan the crowd, hoping somebody else had turned up. She was highly disappointed when she didn't spot her. She had hoped that maybe, just maybe her mother would turn up to the send off ceremony. She had imagined the scenario before. Her mother would be there, and would want to make up for not having much contact other than birthday cards after she left when Marlee was five. But she wasn't there, and it wasn't going to happen.

Marlee shook off her feelings of disappointment, and instead made her way towards the stage, keeping her eyes on Reese, and thinking savagely towards her, 'fuck you'. This was the perfect revenge against bitchy manipulative Reese for always looking down on her and Harry, and it felt fantastic.

* * *

_West Beach Gardens, Sonage, July 6th, 8:45am_

_Liath Ereshkigal, 2, Sonage_

The crowds got thicker the closer the car got to the park. Liath surveyed them through the window of the car. She hadn't been stupid enough to think that there wouldn't be a crowd. She had been a little bit famous before the Selection, thanks to the Verge team, and of course being Selected would make her even more famous.

Which was kind of the goal. Money, fame, maybe a prince if it turned out that the 'bad boy' thing was just an act and he was actually decent in real life. What girl wouldn't want to sign up?

The car pulled up in the center of the park, next to the stage where the send-off ceremony was to take place. There were already cameras and cameramen throughout the park, preparing to film the ceremony from every angle. Liath much preferred to be behind a camera rather than in front of one, but thanks to the stunt double roles she had occasionally done as a child, she wasn't unfamiliar with a place in front of the cameras.

The driver got out of the car, and hurried to open the door for Liath. She got out, and smiled and waved for the cameras. She spotted her father, her brother Uaine, and the four others who made up the Verge team, Ermine, Roman, Falu, and Anastasie, all clustered together near the barrier.

Lee made her way up the steps and onto the stage where the governor was waiting for her, a wide, clearly a little bit fake, smile plastered on his face. She kept a smile on her face as he gave a speech about how proud he was to be sending one of Sonage's finest young women to the palace to compete for Prince Elijah's hand in the great Illéan tradition that was the Selection.

Eventually, he finished, and asked Lee if she would like to say a few words. She just thanked the crowd for coming out in support, since she didn't really have anything else to say, and descended the stairs to head towards a second car, that would take her to the palace.

On her way to the other car, she stopped at the barrier to speak to her family and friends. Her father was the first one she approached. He reached out to squeeze her hand from the other side of the barrier. "Make sure you think. Don't go climbing the palace, alright?" He said in Chinese.

She nodded. "I'll stay out of trouble," she responded in the same language. Not a promise not to find her way into any places she ought not to be, and her father knew it. He smiled, shaking his head slightly, and released her hand.

Uaine was standing next to him. He had come back to Sonage from Angeles to see Liath off. "Good luck, Lee. Don't let Prince Elijah give you any shit, and if he does, tell me so I can come tell him off for messing with my baby sister." He reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "Have a good time, but not too good of a time until you know how it's all going to play out."

She raised one eyebrow and shrugged his hand off her shoulder. "Really? That's the advice you're going to give?"

"Don't want to see you get screwed over. You're my favorite sister, after all."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm your only sister."

"Thus my favorite by default."

"Not sure how much of a compliment it is if it's by default, but okay." She leaned over the barrier to give him a hug, and took another step forward towards Ermine.

"Keep in touch, okay?" Ermine practically towered over Liath, even though she was far from short, so she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes. "Let me know how things go, and how you are."

She nodded. "I will." She would never admit it to him, but she really did appreciated how much Ermine cared.

Roman stood next to Ermine. They had a history. Lee had lost her virginity to him several years before. He smiled at her, but it didn't quite meet his eyes. "Good luck in the Selection." He leaned down to whisper in Lee's ear, so no one else around would hear. "I want you to be happy. Whatever that means."

"Thank you," she said simply. There had always been something there, but they had never tried to have a serious relationship other than friendship. Maybe someday, if the Selection didn't pan out, they would.

Falu was right next to Roman. "Still not too late to back out." He hadn't approved of her entering the Selection in the first place, so it was no surprise that he was still trying to talk her out of it.

"Definitely too late." Lee gestured towards the car waiting for her. "And I don't want to back out."

He nodded. "Alright. Good luck."

Anastasie was next, absently fiddling with a strand of her blonde hair. "Good luck. I'll be following the Selection, and rooting for you. I hope you do well."

Liath nodded briefly. "Thank you." She knew that Anastasie hadn't expected Lee to get picked, if anything she had expected that she would be picked, but she had put her full effort into supporting Lee, and she really appreciated it. "I'll be watching what you guys are up to too. Don't have too much fun without me."

Falu shook his head. "We're going to have so much fun without you. You're going to miss all the fun."

She rolled her eyes at Falu's teasing. "No you won't. I'll see you all. Hopefully not too soon." She turned, and headed for the car. There was no sense in drawing out goodbyes.

The driver opened the door, and she slid into the backseat. Since Sonage bordered Angeles, she was going to be driven to the palace, rather than flying like many of the other girls would be.

The car pulled away from the stage. Lee waved to the crowd one last time, and settled in for the ride.

* * *

_Private Airplane, Above Midston, July 6th, 10:12am_

_Angelique "Jade" West, 2, Waverly_

Jade kept to herself on the plane, like most of the other girls. She had given an interview the night before, which wasn't exactly new, she was a fairly successful actress, after all, but she was used to having one of her fellow cast members with her. That was when it had really sunk in that the Selection might be an escape from her real life, but it wasn't a path out of the spotlight.

Then it had sunk in again when she had seen the crowds gathered to witness the ceremony that had occurred that morning, where the governor of Waverly had seen her off. The Selection was making her more famous than she ever had been before.

But even the unexpected increase in the spotlight that was pointed at her couldn't dampen her enthusiasm. No parents, no manager, just her and three of the other Selected on a plane bound for Angeles. She would have time, for as long as she stayed in the Selection, to be herself without someone else breathing down her neck, trying to make sure that everything she did fit in the perfect picture of a perfect actress. She would be free.

She took a look around the plane. Across the aisle from her there were two girls, both of whom had arrived at the plane before she had. One was a redhead, and the other had shoulder length black hair. The third was sitting in the seat directly in front of Jade, and she was blonde, with tan skin. She had been the last to arrive, after Jade had.

One of the other girls on the plane, the one with shoulder length black hair, who was sitting in the window seat next to the redhead across the aisle, attempted to strike up a conversation. "Hello. I'm Lainey. What are all of your names?"

Jade turned towards her. "I'm Jade. Nice to meet you."

The girl sitting in front of Jade turned. "Adelynn. But everyone calls me Addie. It's nice to meet you, Lainey." Addie turned towards the redhead. "What about you?"

The redhead in the aisle seat next to Lainey was most likely a Two, since her shoes and jewelry, the only part of the uniform of a white shirt and black pants the girls had any say over, were very expensive. The kind of person who might be good for her image. But she didn't have to care about her image, because there was nobody around to make her. That was a wonderful feeling. The redhead turned. She had deep red hair, and green eyes. Jade wondered if it was dyed, or if it was natural. Jade herself naturally had red hair, but it had been dyed blonde at her manager's request. All to better fit the image. "I'm Cassandra."

"Are you excited to get to the Palace?" Lainey smiled at Cassandra.

"I've been a few times already." Cassandra returned to staring straight ahead, seeming disinterested in continuing the conversation.

"Oh? Have you met Prince Elijah already then? What's he like?" Lainey continued on anyway, as if she was hoping Cassandra would warm up to her if she kept on trying.

"Once. In passing." She didn't volunteer any other information about their meeting.

"Do you think he'll recognize you?" Lainey asked.

Cassandra shook her head. "I doubt it. I think he was drunk. So don't worry, we're all starting on equal footing here."

Jade got the distinct impression that Cassandra very much wished that she did have some sort of previous connection to the prince, and also that she didn't really think they were on equal footing. Which was probably true. If Cassandra had been to the palace multiple times already, then she probably had some important family, which would probably put her above an actress in the running. But that was alright. No matter who won, Jade would still win in the end, because she was free.

"What about you, Addie?" Lainey turned her gaze to her. "Are you excited?"

Addie smiled widely. "Of course. Who wouldn't be? But what about you two?"

Lainey nodded. "A little nervous, of course. But I'm excited."

"Me too," Jade agreed. It was thrilling, to have all this freedom, and that almost outweighed the nerves. Still, what if she was eliminated on the first day? That wasn't far enough into the competition to ensure that her parents would let her live on her own. But she probably wouldn't be, she reminded herself. She was a Two, she probably wouldn't be eliminated right off the bat. She would make it far enough. And she would be free.

* * *

_Backseat of a Limo, Angeles, July 6th, 11:10am_

_Zenya Laventis, 5, Sota_

The crowd outside the limo was cheering, although Zenya couldn't hear them. She had been deaf for seven years, since the age of nineteen. The other girls who had been on her plane, Florida, Thea, Violet, and Yunuen, were talking, but Zenya wasn't at an angle where she could properly read their lips, so she didn't try. Large groups were difficult, because in order to follow the conversation she needed to pay attention to so many different people at once, so she just stayed quiet.

She had chatted a little bit with Thea, who had been sitting next to her, on the plane, but other than that she hadn't spoken to any of the other four, since she hadn't been able to see their lips from her seat. She wanted to get to know them all, but hopefully she'd have a chance to talk to them later on. If Prince Elijah didn't eliminate her right off the bat because she was deaf. She really hoped he wouldn't. She wanted the chance to meet some fun people and to see the ocean before she was eliminated. She knew she wouldn't go far, because of her caste and her lack of hearing, but she could hope that she would stay long enough to do those things.

The limo pulled into the palace garage, and the girls got out. A woman was waiting for them, and she was talking, but Zenya was too far away to catch what she was saying. She just followed the other girls as they made their way through the palace, into a large room, where the other Selected were getting makeovers. The woman said some other things, but Zenya was still too far away to see.

The other girls were led off by maids to salon chairs, but Zenya wasn't. The woman approached her. Zenya made sure to watch her lips as she spoke. "Lady Zenya? I'm Lindsey, the Selection coordinator. Let's step into a side room for a moment."

Zenya nodded. "Okay." She followed Lindsey into a small room off to one side.

There were two other women waiting in there. The first one signed to Zenya, "Hi. I'm Kaylee. I'm an Illéan sign language interpreter, and I'll be working with you as long as you're in the Selection."

The other one signed, "I'm Sara, I'm going to be taking turns interpreting for you with Kaylee."

Zenya shook her head. "I don't need an interpreter. I can read lips just fine, as long as I can get a good look." She didn't need that much help. She could do this without too many special accommodations, she knew she could. She didn't want to stand out too much for the wrong reasons. If she couldn't do this on her own, she stood an even worse chance in the Selection than she already did.

In truth, lip reading wasn't always terribly accurate, and involved a lot of guesswork, but most people there wouldn't know that. And she could do it. She didn't need to be set apart from everyone else like this.

Lindsey looked skeptical, but she agreed. "Alright. If you think you can do without, I'll have a maid bring you over to a station."

Zenya kind of wished she had agreed, once she was sitting in a chair having her hair done. Her maids were generally good about making sure she could see their lips when they spoke to her, but when they were behind her they couldn't hold any kind of conversation, which they could if she had accepted the offered interpreters. She wanted to know all about the gossip, or maybe talk to the Selected in the chair next to her, but since she couldn't turn to read anyone's lips, she had to sit in silence, which probably made her look standoffish. That was a terrible start. But Zenya couldn't admit that she needed any kind of help. She'd be just fine.

* * *

_The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 6th, 11:50am_

_Adelynn Sailor, 6, Clermont_

Snip, snip, snip went the scissors as Adelynn's maid Ria cut her hair, while her other maid, Claire, painted her fingernails. Adelynn had tried to make conversation with them, since there was no reason not to, but they hadn't seemed interested. Maybe afraid they would get in trouble. Adelynn would never be angry with her maids, they were just like her after all, but they didn't know that yet. If she stayed long enough, they'd get more used to her.

She glanced around the room at the other girls. Jade, one of the girls she had met on the plane, was having her blonde hair dyed back to its natural red. Another girl, across the room, had a group of maids discussing whether or not to dye her silver hair to a more natural color for the Selection.

Next to her was a dark-haired girl who's maids were painting her nails pink. Adelynn hadn't introduced herself yet. She wanted to introduce herself to all of the other Selected girls, and this seemed like as good a place to start as any.

"Hi. I'm Addie. What's your name?"

The girl glanced up. "Oh, I'm Thea. Where are you from? I'm from Sumner."

Addie smiled at her. "I'm from Clermont."

"Oh yeah? I've heard the weather is nice there."

"Yeah. It's very humid, but I really like it."

"What do you do? I'm a chef."

Thea was a four. That was good to know. "I'm a flight attendant, but during my time off I'm a lifeguard." Telling Thea her job would give away her caste, but that didn't matter, they were all equals here.

"Oh, so you spend a lot of time by the ocean?"

"Yeah, I spend loads of time at the beach. My family lives pretty much right on the beach."

"Oh, that's cool. Do you have a bunch of siblings? I have nine."

"Nine? Wow. I only have four. Three sisters and a brother."

"Older or younger? I have three older brothers, and four younger sisters and two younger brothers."

"I have one older sister, and the other three are all younger. What do you think you're going to do after the Selection is over?"

Adelynn shrugged. "Go back home to my family, and go to school to become a marine biologist. What about you?"

"I dunno yet. I just entered for the adventure of it. Prince Elijah's hot, so why the hell not?"

Adelynn laughed. "He's very cute, I agree. I've had a crush on him since I was like, five," she admitted.

Thea grinned. "Aww, that's so cute. And sweet. Bet you're really excited to meet him then."

"I am. I'm really nervous, though. I don't really know what to expect."

"It's an adventure, which is what I signed up for, so I'm all for it."

"It will be an adventure," Adelynn agreed. "Even though I'm a flight attendant, I haven't seen as much of the world as I want to. That's why I came here. To try something new. To have some fun. And who knows? Maybe I'll even fall in love."

"Well, there's only one prince, but I'm sure there's enough new experiences to go around." Thea grinned at her.

One of Thea's maids spoke. "We're done with your nails, are you ready to go over and pick out an outfit for the after photos?"

Thea nodded. "I'm ready." She turned back to Adelynn. "It looks like I've got to go look at clothes. I'll see you later?"

Adelynn nodded. "Definitely." Only thirty more Selected to introduce herself to. Excellent.

Ria stepped away. "Alright. I'm done with your hair. Ready for me to spin you around so you can take a look?"

Adelynn nodded, and Ria turned the salon chair around so Adelynn could see herself in the mirror. Her caramel blonde hair hadn't really changed, but it was a lot shorter than it had been before, ending just below her shoulders instead of flowing all the way to halfway down her back.

"What do you think? Is this a good length?"

"It's perfect." It was an excellent length. Still nice and long, but her hair looked so much healthier like this than it had long.

"What are you thinking on style for your after picture? I'm thinking just curl it and leave it down."

Addelyn nodded enthusiastically. "That's perfect." Things seemed to be off to an excellent start. The adventure that was the Selection was already shaping up to be an incredible experience.

* * *

_The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 6th, 12:41pm_

_Ixchel Hamilton, 3, Honduragua_

Ixchel shifted on the couch, waiting patiently for her maids to bring her a dress for her to wear during the after makeover photos. She could see her twin sister Yunuen across the room, clearly complaining about the dress her maids had picked for her.

Yunuen needed to remember that they were people too, and there was more to life than high society. Clearly she didn't. Their own mother was a six. How could she behave like this?

Being Selected had been a massive shock, and Ixchel had thought that nothing could be more shocking. She had been wrong. Finding out that Yunuen had also been Selected had most certainly topped it. Even now that Ixchel was looking straight at her, she couldn't believe it.

Ixchel felt for the note in the pocket of her pants. It was still there. Thank God. She could get in far too much trouble for having that on her. She had worried, during the security checks, but fortunately they hadn't made her turn out her pockets, just went through her bag and had her go through a metal detector. She was glad she had chosen to put it in her pocket rather than hidden in the pages of one of her law textbooks. The note was still safe. She could still find out more about the rebellion. She had only just found out about its existence that morning, when her mother had handed her the sealed note she now carried, and she had to learn more about it.

She saw the injustices that occurred every day. She had watched her mother struggle with them throughout her entire life. She had planned to become a public defender, like her father had been, before he traded it out for money and prestige. But perhaps the rebellion was a way to help, to protect people from injustice. She just had to know more.

Her ticket to learning more walked back and forth in front of her, clearly practicing walking in high heels. Lydie Tyler. According to her mother, Lydie was a contact for the rebellion in the north, and if she could just get the note to her, the two portions of the rebellion would be able to share information. And Ixchel would be able to find out what she needed to know about the rebellion.

Of course, she couldn't give the note to Lydie now. There were people hurrying all about the room. Ixchel might have tried, since it would be disguised in all the hurry, but there was a redhead sitting next to her on the couch, also waiting for her maids to bring her a dress, and there was no way that she wouldn't notice if Ixchel tried to pass a note.

A maid hurried over to grab Lydie for her after makeover photos, and Lydie followed her into a side room, long dark blue dress swishing as she walked. There went her chance.

That was okay. As long as neither of them were eliminated on the first day, there would be other chances.

Another maid came, holding a sparkly white dress for the redhead, who Ixchel recognized as Cassandra, the first to be announced on the Report a little over a week before, and a second maid followed with a pair of white heels.

Cassandra stood and went to change, leaving Ixchel alone on the couch, watching Yunuen from across the room. It had been two years since she had seen her sister, and she wasn't particularly eager to see her again. Her sister was a perfect example of what was wrong with Illèa. Twos and threes who didn't care about anyone below them.

Yunuen's maids found another dress for her, a purple mermaid style dress, which she appeared to like, because she went off to change into it. A moment after Yunuen disappeared into the clearly makeshift changing rooms, Ixchel's maids appeared with a dress.

It was a long burgundy dress, with a lacy section from just above the bust to the collar. Ixchel stood, and accepted it, thanking the maid who had brought it. The second maid held a pair of silver high heeled sandals to go with it. Ixchel accepted those as well, and headed towards the changing rooms to put them on.

Maybe after this she'd have a chance to hand over that note.

* * *

**AN: The girls introduced in this chapter are Marlee Weston by mnbvcxz-xx, Liath Ereshkigal by izar ilunak, Angelique West by myteenyouth, Zenya Laventis by Slyea, Adelynn Sailor by jenhen48, and Ixchel Hamilton by harrisens. Let me know how I did with your girls!**

**I did my best to research what it's like to be deaf, but I may have missed something. If I did, let me know and I'll correct my mistake.**


	9. Chapter 9

_The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 6th, 1:00pm_

_Nefertiti Gamel, 3, Zuni_

Nefera browsed through a rack of dresses in her size, searching for something to wear for her after makeover pictures and interview. She had begged her maids, and they had allowed her to look for her own dress, since she had experience dressing herself for similar things.

Several maids were nearby, browsing other racks for dresses for the other Selected. There were only a few Selected left who hadn't been interviewed. They seemed to be going in order of whoever's makeovers had been done first.

The remaining Selected sat on couches, waiting. Nefera knew all their names, thanks to her job with the Zuni Broadcasting Company. She had talked about all the Selected on her show before she had come to the palace. Florida Smith was on one couch, and Violet Harper and Kendall Gibbs, from Dominica, were waiting patiently for dresses on another couch. Zenya Laventis was still having her hair done.

A maid found a dress, and hurried over to give it to Violet, who headed into a changing stall to put it on. The dress was long, floaty, and light pink, with pink flowers.

Nefera turned back to the rack to search for her own dress. There didn't seem to be anything neon colored on the rack, so she settled on a red mermaid style dress with a high slit up one side.

She headed over to change. A maid brought her a pair of heels, and she slipped them on and headed over to sit on the couch next to Florida.

Florida immediately held out a hand. "Hi! I'm Flo. What's your name?"

"I'm Nefera." She shook Flo's hand politely.

"Where are you from? What's your caste?"

"I'm from Zuni, and I'm a three."

Flo looked at her analytically for a moment, as if she was trying to decide something. She apparently decided that Nefera was alright, because she nodded to herself, and said, "What do you do?"

"I'm a journalist."

"Oh, that's what I was going to study this fall, but I entered the Selection instead. I want to write to educate people, and open their eyes to the truth."

Maybe she and Flo could be friends. They obviously had similar interests. Maybe they could have some good intellectual discussions. Flo was young, but that wouldn't matter, if she had something good to say.

"The people need to be warned. We're always being controlled, always being watched. They're spraying chemicals on us from airplanes, and they're lying to us in the schools about the moon landing and the earth being round."

It only took a few sentences for Nefera to realize that she had been very very wrong about Flo. She rolled her eyes. "Sure, and there are aliens in the desert," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, but there are. You're from Zuni, surely you ought to know. Usually the UFOs are invisible, but sometimes the invisibility fails and you can see them, or they crash," Flo said firmly, as if there was absolutely no question about the matter.

Flo's name was called before Nefera could give her another snarky answer, and she hurried off for her interview, leaving Nefera alone.

While she had some time by herself, Nefera pulled out her journal to write down the details of her arrival at the palace. She had come by car from Zuni, and as soon as she had arrived, she had been whisked off for makeovers. She also made a note about Flo, out of habit from spending so much time interviewing people for her work.

_Flo - Crazy conspiracy theorist._

After a few more minutes it was Nefera's turn to get her after-makeover photos. She smiled and posed as instructed, and then it was time for her interview.

The interviewer was waiting in a small room with a cell phone open to a voice recording app, and a notepad in front of. She smiled at Nefera as she stepped into the room. "Have a seat, Lady Nefertiti. I'm Grace, from Highlight Magazine."

Nefera sat down, as instructed, and smiled at Grace, not even a little bit nervous. She had done this time and time before, although on the other side. She knew how to answer to make a good story, but also tell the truth. She would not pretend to be something she wasn't.

"I just have a few questions for you. Why did you sign up for the Selection?"

"I've always dreamed of having an epic love story, something fit for a novel, so I thought I'd give the Selection a shot."

Grace raised her eyebrows. "So you're looking for your fairytale romance?" She made a note in her notebook.

Nefera nodded. "You could say that, I suppose." She smiled again.

"I bet you're really excited to meet Prince Elijah tomorrow."

"I'm really excited to meet him and start getting to know him. I want to find out if this will be my love story."

"I'm sure you've heard that Prince Elijah seems to be a little bit less than Prince Charming. How do you feel about that? Do you think it's true?"

Nefera thought about it for a moment. "I think that people are never quite what they seem on the surface, so it's not fair to judge someone on a first glance. I want to find out what he's really like in person, and get to know who he really is."

Grace smiled. "That'll be all, Lady Nefertiti. Thank you."

* * *

_The Selected's Wing, The Palace, Angeles, July 6th, 3:16pm_

_Wilhelmina von Schmidt, 2, Labrador_

Wilhelmina hadn't paid any attention when they had been given a tour of the palace. She hadn't needed to. She had practically grown up there, after all, during the years when her parents had been trying to arrange her brother's marriage to Jenn.

After the tour, the Selected had been told they could spend time in their rooms, or wander the halls nearby, until five o'clock, when it would be time to get ready for dinner.

Wilhelmina took the time to walk the familiar halls. Even though she knew almost every inch of the palace like the back of her hand, she stuck to the approved area. There was no sense in doing something that could get her kicked out so early on in the Selection. Even though it had been her aunt's idea for her to enter the Selection, she really did want to see Eli again. It had been more than five years since she had seen him last. The last time she had seen him, she had only been seventeen. Now she was twenty-three.

The idea of seeing Jenn again was considerably more nerve-wracking, although she hid her nerves easily. Was five years long enough that Jenn was angry anymore? Would she be willing to believe Wilhelmina when she said that she hadn't known about the attempted arranged marriage ahead of time?

Wilhelmina had absolutely no idea. She continued wandering through the halls, taking in the familiar sights. She stopped at a window that overlooked the carefully manicured gardens. She and Jenn had spent hours outdoors in the gardens, accidentally messing up the landscaping and getting disapproving looks from the gardeners.

She smiled as she spotted a young girl who had to be Mel sprinting across the tidy green grass, with no regard for the dress she was wearing. She was being chased by an older woman that Wilhelmina recognized as having been Jenn's nanny when she was young. Mel had just been a baby when she had left the palace. She had gotten so big in the years that had passed since.

Wilhelmina turned away from the window, heels clicking against the marble floor as she walked. She half-hoped that she would just run into Jenn while wandering, and get it over with, but that was unlikely. She knew the entire royal family would be staying far away from the Selected's wing today.

If she left the Selected's wing, her chances of running into Jenn would vastly increase, but again, she didn't want to chance getting kicked out on the first day. That would be stupid of her. So she just continued wandering, no particular destination in mind, just looking around and remember all the fond memories of her childhood. She and Jenn had been partners in crime. They had done pretty much everything together, including plan retaliation for the elaborate schemes Eli and Micah had come up with to torment them.

She smiled fondly at the memory. She had hated Eli as a young child, although looking back it had probably been mostly one-sided. There had been no malice behind the things Eli and Micah had done to annoy her, it had been mostly just for the fun of making her angry.

That had all ended just before Eli had turned fourteen. Something changed, and all of a sudden Evelyn and King William were getting a divorce, and Eli had been sent off to boarding school for a school year. When he got back, he was different, quieter. He had always been quiet, but after that year, he had been quiet in a different way. He and Micah had quickly become far more interested in alcohol and girls than in irritating her, and after he had gone to college, she hardly saw him.

She wondered what she should say to him tomorrow, when they would see each other for the first time in more than five years. Hopefully he would have recognized her. If he didn't recognize her, tomorrow was going to be very awkward. She had lived in the palace for nine years, he had better recognize her.

Wilhelmina knew perfectly well that there was a chance he might just eliminate her right away, but she hoped he wouldn't. She really wanted to give a romantic relationship with Eli a shot. And she really wanted to have a chance to apologize properly to Jenn, and finally get her to believe that she hadn't know about the plan to marry her off to Ernest.

Hopefully she would get the chance to do both of those things.

* * *

_The Dining Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 6th, 6:42pm_

_Helena Tomas, 2, Calgary_

The royal family wasn't at dinner. That was deeply disappointing. Lena had hoped to get a glimpse of Prince Elijah. Oh well. She didn't have long to wait anyway, since they'd be meeting the Prince tomorrow.

She surveyed the other girls at the table. She already had a plan for Prince Elijah. Men were simple, and usually only wanted one thing, so she would catch his attention easily enough. It was a simple matter of sex appeal, and figuring out how to get him alone. And if that failed, there was always his father, or his younger brother. She'd get what she wanted, she was sure of it. But keeping any of the other girls from outshining her would be more difficult.

She had done research on them before the Selection began, of course. She needed to know her competition. Some of them wouldn't need any special effort. The Sixes would take themselves out of the competition easily enough, with their lack of class, and some of the girls were just plain unremarkable. The other Twos would be the most difficult.

Lena took stock of the budding friendships all along the table. Violet and Isla, a Five and a Two, seemed like an unusual friendship to Lena, but she supposed they were both artists, so it made sense. Adelynn, a Six, Lydie, a Four, and Thea, another Four, were chatting enthusiastically. Brielle and Angelique, two actresses, were talking quietly at one end of the table. Cassandra wasn't speaking to anyone, just eating quietly with perfect manners.

Florida was talking loudly about how the earth was flat to Lennox, who didn't look convinced. Lena didn't think much of that. Florida was a Two, she was supposed to be better educated than that. Lennox clearly didn't believe that nonsense, and she was a Six. She was at the mercy of the public school system, and not even the good part of it, where the fours and fives were educated.

Ixchel, the law student, was talking to Nefertiti, who worked for the Zuni Broadcasting Company, and Ixchel's twin sister Yunuen was seated as far away from her sister as she could possibly get. The deaf girl, Zenya, wasn't talking to anyone either, but she wouldn't be any kind of threat.

Gemma hadn't drunk any of the wine that had been placed in front of her. Neither had Cassandra, for that matter. That was interesting. It might mean something, it might not. She'd have to keep watching to find out if that was a weakness she could exploit. To Lena's right, Elaine was talking to Marlee, and to Lena's left, Wilhelmina was sitting. Lena briefly considered striking up a conversation with her, in the hopes that she might get some inside information on Prince Elijah, but she thought it was highly unlikely that Wilhelmina would run the risk of giving up her advantage, so she didn't bother. She'd have to find her weakness quickly. A prior connection could take Wilhelmina far, if Lena didn't find something.

Marlee was distracted by another girl, and Elaine turned to Lena. "Hey. My name's Lainey. I heard that you're a dancer? I am too. Not professionally, of course, just for fun."

Lena turned and smiled politely. She couldn't show her true colors this early in the Selection. She needed to be sweet to everyone until she had this in the bag. It would be easier to collect information if no one hated her. "I am a dancer, that's right. My name is Lena." She held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you." She already knew Elaine's name, and quite a bit about her, but she didn't say that. "I'm in the Royal Dance Company. I've been dancing since I was little." All throughout the remainder of the meal, she chatted with Elaine about dance. She needed to at least pretend to make friends among the Selected.

* * *

_The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 6th, 8:30pm_

_Elaine Walton, 3, Carolina_

It was only the first day, and already trouble was brewing in the Women's Room. Cassandra seemed to take personal issue with the fact that Wilhelmina had previously known Prince Elijah rather well. She was glaring at her from across the room, as if she couldn't stand the fact that someone else had an advantage she didn't. Lainey thought that Cassandra had thought that she was the only one with any previous connection to the palace, and she hated that she had been wrong.

Lainey knew that if Cassandra knew that her stepmother was friends with the Queen, she would be on the receiving end of that same jealous glare, which made her nervous. She didn't like arguments, and she didn't want to be involved in any drama.

There was a knock on the door, and a maid stepped into the room. "Lady Elaine?"

Lainey stood up, smoothing out her skirt. "Yes?"

"The Queen would like to see you in her private sitting room."

Well, apparently her wish to stay out of any drama had not been granted. She followed the maid out of the room, trying not to hear the other girls whispering, wondering why she was being summoned to see the Queen on the very first day. She had wanted to be friends with everyone, but that seemed unlikely to happen now.

She followed the maid through the palace, up to the Queen's private sitting room. There were guards standing right outside the door, and Lainey couldn't help the twinge of sadness she felt upon seeing them. Jonas, her ex-boyfriend, was off somewhere, wearing a uniform like that.

Melissa smiled widely as she walked through the door. "Elaine! I'm so glad you're here! I've been looking forward to having you in the palace since your name was announced." She gestured towards the empty seats. "Have a seat, please."

Lainey sat down. "Thank you. I'm really happy to be here." She wasn't terribly happy to be there, since she hadn't particularly wanted to enter the Selection in the first place, but she wasn't going to tell Melissa that, since she seemed to be absolutely thrilled that Lainey was there.

"How is Caelynn? I need to have her to the palace sometime soon, or pay her a visit. How is your father?"

"Dad and Caelynn are good. I'm sure she would love to see you, she told me to say hello if I got the chance to see you. How are you? How is Mel?"

A fleeting expression of sadness crossed Melissa's face before she said, "I'm wonderful." Her smile at those words seemed a little bit frozen. "Mel is doing well. She's giving her nanny quite the hard time."

Lainey laughed. "I can imagine. Bet she's a handful."

"She's really excited to see you. She's getting ready for bed now, but if she was allowed she'd be in here and all over you. I'd expect to see her sometime tomorrow afternoon, she's talked constantly about you since the Selected were announced."

They talked for a while about nothing, a conversation full of frozen half smiles and half answers to questions on Melissa's part. Lainey tried more than once to wrap up the conversation so she could return to the Women's Room, which was where she was technically supposed to be, but Melissa just continued talking. Unwilling to point out the fact that this meeting was very much against protocol for the Selection, Lainey stayed and talked for nearly an hour.

When she returned to the Women's Room, some of the Selected had already gone to bed, but Cassandra was already there, staring at her. "What did the Queen want?" Someone asked.

"She just wanted to talk," Lainey answered, hoping that maybe, just maybe, that answer would save her from further confrontation.

"Why did she want to talk to you?"

Another one of the Selected asked, "Isn't that a breach of the Selection rules?"

Lainey shrugged helplessly, not liking any of the jealous stares she was getting.

"Hey, Lainey." She turned towards the other person calling out to her, and saw Brielle patting the seat next to her, on the loveseat next to her, close to the chair Wilhelmina was sitting in.

Lainey gratefully made her way across the room to sit down next to her, glad that at least someone was still willing to speak to her.

She turned towards Wilhelmina, who had been initially cold when Lainey had tried to introduce herself earlier. But maybe now that Lainey was in the same boat, she'd be friendlier. "It sucks, doesn't it? That they hate us already."

Wilhelmina glanced around the room, taking in the jealous stares. "I suppose it does. I haven't seen Eli in five years, and we didn't get along terribly well before, I might even be at a disadvantage, even though I have inside knowledge."

Lainey nodded. "I've only met Eli once, and he probably doesn't even remember me. My stepmother knew the Queen before she became the Queen, but that's not a reason to hate me."

Wilhelmina shrugged delicately. "It is what it is. Let them hate. Their opinion isn't what matters, after all."

* * *

_The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 6th, 9:33pm_

_Yunuen Hamilton, 3, Tammins_

Yunuen sat with a group of girls, discussing why exactly the Queen might have wanted to see Elaine. She didn't know their castes, and she knew she ought to be attempting to make friends among the higher caste girls, but gossip about the Queen was too good to resist. Even though she wasn't the rightful Queen, knowing what the rumor mill was saying about her could be useful later on down the line.

The person she really ought to be making friends with was Wilhelmina. Insider information would be just want Yunuen needed to get what she wanted, to make herself a One, and prove that she did belong in high society, no matter what anyone said about her. That would be the ultimate sign of acceptance, to reach the very top of the ladder.

There was just one problem. Ixchel was here too. And Yunuen always came in second place to Ixchel. Ixchel was Mama's favorite, and before Dad stopped being a public defender, Ixchel had been his favorite too. Even now that Ixchel had stopped speaking to him, Yunuen suspected that if she did, she'd be Dad's favorite again in a heartbeat.

Since Ixchel was everyone else's favorite, it only made sense that she'd be the Prince's favorite too. And then Yunuen's one chance to be a one would go right down the drain. There were plenty of rich twos, of course, there always were, but there was only one Prince Elijah, only one ultimate prize. And if he liked Ixchel better, Yunuen wouldn't be able to stand it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Yunuen spotted Ixchel standing up and leaving the room. Better to get the reunion over with sooner rather than later. Yunuen excused herself from the group she was with, and followed Ixchel out of the Women's Room.

Ixchel was halfway down the hall when Yunuen caught up to her. "Ixchel."

She turned. "Yunuen. What do you want?"

Now that she was talking to her, Yunuen didn't know what she wanted to say. It seemed stupid to warn her sister to stay away from the Prince, to tell her not to take this away from her. To tell her to let her be good enough for once in her life. But that would just give Ixchel one more reason to believe she was better than Yunuen. She already believed that, Yunuen didn't need to add fuel to the fire. "Why'd you even sign up?"

"Mama wanted me to."

Of course Ixchel was only in this for someone else. Ixchel thought she was so perfect, and she thought that Yunuen was such a disgrace for trying so desperately to be good enough, to look and act like a two, so that nobody would look at her and assume she was a six anymore. "Good luck," Yunuen said begrudgingly. She didn't mean it, of course. She fully intended to do whatever she could to make sure that Ixchel wasn't the favorite in this too.

Down the hall, Yunuen heard the sound of a door opening. She glanced down the hall to see Lydie stepping into her room and closing the door behind her. Ixchel just turned away and headed for her own room without saying anything in response to Yunuen, visibly annoyed.

* * *

_Calista's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 7th, 8:19am_

_Calista Matapang, 3, Hudson_

Cali took a deep breath, and gave herself one last once over in the mirror. Her maids had chosen a long grey dress, with three-quarter length sleeves and silver detailing on the upper portion for the dress she would wear the first time she met Prince Elijah, and she hoped it wouldn't be too similar to another girl's dress. She didn't want anyone to think she was trying to sabotage them or something.

She took another deep breath, and met the eyes of her mirror self. "You've got this, Cali. It's all going to be okay. There's absolutely no reason to worry." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But what if it's not all okay? What if there is a reason to worry? What if I dump food on my dress at breakfast? What if I trip?"

She could have continued with the what ifs forever, but there was a knock on the door, and a voice she recognized as Lindsey's spoke. "Time to head down to breakfast, Lady Calista."

Cali took another deep breath, and stepped away from the mirror, heading for the door. She joined the group of girls in similarly fancy dresses, waiting to head down to breakfast. The other girls were chatting, but she was too nervous to join in.

A blonde girl made her way over to her, and stuck out her hand. "Hi! I'm Addie. I don't think we've met yet. What's your name?"

Cali smiled back, relieved that someone was talking to her, sparing her from having to start a conversation herself. "I'm Cali." She accepted Addie's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Addie nodded. "It's nice to meet you too. Where are you from?"

"Hudson. What about you?"

"Clermont. I'm a flight attendant and a lifeguard. What do you do?"

"I'm a nurse."

"Oh, that's cool. You should come and meet Thea and Lydie and Marlee. They're really fun." Addie gestured towards a group of girls clustered together off to one side. They were all laughing together. "Come on."

Cali wasn't a fan of big groups, but still, she followed Addie over. She didn't want to disappoint her. Addie introduced her to the group, and Cali hovered silently on the edge of their conversation, unsure of what to say, until Lindsey clapped her hands to draw their attention.

"Alright, ladies. We're getting ready to head down to breakfast now. After breakfast, we're going to have a brief protocol lesson, before you get your chance to meet the Prince." A flurry of whispers broke out among the Selected, but Cali stayed quiet, wondering one thing. Would he like her?

* * *

**AN: The characters introduced in this chapter are Nefertiti Gamel by Nikt Wazny, Wilhelmina von Schmidt by bumblebea30, Helena Tomas by NewKind, Elaine Walton by RosemaryAlysse, Yunuen Hamilton by harrisens, and Calista Matapang by Angeley. Let me know how I did with your girls!**

**I've gotten some questions about this, so Ixchel is pronounced ee-SHELL, and Yunuen is pronounced yoon-WEN.**

**Kendall doesn't belong to anyone, she's just a throwaway name.**


	10. Chapter 10

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, July 7th, 9:27am_

_Elijah_

"I can make myself puke. That's always an option." Eli ran a hand through his hair nervously, leaning back in his desk chair. He wasn't serious, but he was not looking forward to meeting the Selected.

"Pretty sure you were supposed to have left faking sick to get out of doing things in high school."

Matthias came forward to offer Eli a second cup of coffee. "I personally agree with Micah."

Eli accepted it gratefully, and took a sip. He felt as if he had hardly slept at all, even though he knew for a fact he had slept at least three hours. A cup of coffee and a shower had woken him up somewhat, but he still just wanted to crawl back in bed. And probably not sleep. Fuck insomnia. "Since when do you ever agree with Micah?"

"When he started making sense." Matthias shook his head. "That sounds like such an oxymoron, doesn't it?"

"Yup, it's an oxymoron." Eli took another sip of his coffee. "I agree with Micah too. Unfortunately parental oversight didn't stay in high school where it was supposed to, so I'm stuck faking sick if I want to ditch responsibilities."

"Ditching responsibilities should have remained in high school too," Matthias said as he left the room.

"Oh don't lecture me. I know and I'm not going to ditch, I just really really want to." Eli took another sip of his coffee, and sighed, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. "Tell me when we need to head down, okay?"

Eli wasn't sure how much time he spent trying to forget, trying not to think too much about the fact that he was about to meet his future wife.

He had always thought it would be her.

It wasn't going to be her.

That was another fact he didn't need to think too much about.

Eventually Micah tapped his shoulder, and said, "It's time."

Eli nodded, and stood up. He adjusted his suit jacket and tie, and followed Micah out of the room.

They headed downstairs to the small ballroom, where the Selected were gathered. Eli and Micah stopped outside the door to look at each other.

Micah spoke first. "Good luck."

Eli nodded. "Thanks." He put a hand on the door, preparing to push it open. "Here goes nothing." He pushed the door open, and walked in.

The Selected were gathered in the center of the room, facing Lindsey, who was standing at the other end of the room. "—You will wait your turn for your name to be called to have your time with the Prince. Are there any questions?"

Eli quietly made his way up to the front of the room to stand next to Lindsey. A strand of his hair fell into his face, and he tucked it back behind his ear, slightly self-conscious. Every eye in the room was on him.

He surveyed the Selection. They wore a rainbow of differently colored formal dresses, and every possible natural hair color seemed to be represented. And some unnatural hair colors. Good. They hadn't made Liath change her hair color after all. The second thing Eli noticed about the Selected was that a good portion of them were taller than him, especially since most of them were wearing heels of some kind.

There were no questions, and it was time for him to speak. "Hello, and welcome to the palace. You can all call me Eli." Since he would be marrying one of them, it didn't make any sense to him to have them use his title. "I'm sure Lindsey has already told you that I'll be briefly speaking with all of you one on one this morning." He paused for a moment, and looked over the group. They all looked tense. He tried to think of a stupid joke to put them at ease. "I'm seeing one immediate problem here. You're all too tall." Ugh, they were going to take that too seriously, bad move. "It looks like I'm going to need to borrow a pair of those heels. Anyone wear a men's size nine and a half?" He smiled at the group.

That got some laughs. Good. That would have been awkward if nobody had laughed. "Just one more thing to take care of before we get started." He scanned the room. "Today is Lady Gemma's birthday. Where are you at, Lady Gemma? Put up a hand, I don't see you." She did, and he said, "Come up here for a minute." She came up to stand next to him at the front of the room. Her dress was a floaty material, with a purple and blue flower pattern. It kind of reminded him of Isabelle's tattoo, but that had been roses, not… whatever those flowers were. He didn't know his flowers.

"Now, we all know it's not your birthday unless you've been publicly humiliated, so I'm going to make everyone sing to you." She didn't look too freaked out, which was good. He would have spent way too much time kicking himself if she was shy. He turned back to the group. "Don't get jealous, I know all your birthdays, and you'll all get your turn."

The whole group sang to her, and Eli turned back to Gemma. "Today really is your lucky day, because you're first alphabetically too."

She laughed. "I guess it is." She smiled at him as they headed into a small room off the ballroom.

"Happy birthday. Twenty-one, right? Old enough to legally buy a drink anywhere in Illéa. Not that that rule matters here."

She fiddled with her silver bracelet. "I don't drink, actually."

He made a mental note to write down somewhere on her file that she didn't drink. He had a feeling he'd reference the files a lot while planning dates, and that seemed like something he'd want to remember when deciding what they were going to do together. "Probably better for you. Also the perfect hangover prevention strategy."

She nodded. "Yup."

"So, tell me a little bit about yourself. Hobbies. Favorite color. That kind of thing."

She didn't quite look him in the eyes as she spoke. Nerves, probably. Eli could sympathize. "I garden, and I play the piano. I like to cook, but I can't say I'm actually any good. And my favorite color is green."

"I haven't cooked much in a while, but I used to be decent at it. I made edible food, at least." Isabelle had told him he could have a career as a chef if the whole Prince thing didn't pan out, but she had been mostly joking.

"You cook?" She seemed pleasantly surprised. Probably hadn't expected that he was capable of doing anything himself.

"Cooked. Past tense. I haven't in ages. The cooks generally don't take kindly to the kitchens being invaded by bored princes, and I don't want to make their lives any harder."

She nodded. "What about your favorite color?"

"Black. Like my soul." He laughed. "No, just kidding, I'm not that edgy, it's red."

She laughed too. "My least favorite color. Of course."

"I like green too. Or purple." Those were both colors that reminded him of Isabelle, of course. The color of her eyes, and her favorite color. "I'm afraid time is up for now, Lady Gemma."

He led her back to the group, pleased. That had gone well, or at least her thought so. "Lady Brielle?" He called out. A girl in a navy blue dress, with dark brown shoulder length hair stepped forward. He led her to the side room, and said, "So, Lady Brielle. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

"I'm an actress. I mostly do plays, but when I was younger I was in a lot of movies, and more recently I was in a TV show. I played the lead role in Siren, maybe you've heard of it?"

Eli already knew all that, but it was nice to hear it from her. "I'm afraid I haven't. Musicals aren't really my thing." He had googled Siren, and had saved a video of Brielle's performance, but hadn't actually gotten around to watching it.

"Oh." Brielle looked a little bit disappointed that he wasn't really into musicals, but she didn't seem too bothered, because she gave him a flirty smile. "Maybe I'll change your mind."

"Maybe." He really doubted that, but he wouldn't contradict her. "Do you play any instruments?"

"I play the piano mostly. And I sing, if you count that as an instrument."

He nodded, and was about to tell her that their time was up, when she rested a hand on his arm. "I'm going to be upfront with you. I'm an actress. You just have to tell me what the script is, and I can play whatever part you need."

That was definitely an offer worth considering. He wasn't sure he could fall in love with anyone here, not with the memory of her hanging over his head, so perhaps marrying someone who could pretend with him would be the best option. "Thank you, Lady Brielle. I'll keep that in mind. But our time is up for now."

Ladies Riley, Dahlia, Pauline, and Malia were all unremarkable, but the next girl on the list was certainly a standout. "Lady Liath?" Eli called out. Liath had an interesting career, an interesting hair color choice, she was muscular, and in her towering heels she was far taller than him. He suspected that she would even be taller than him without the heels. He had to look up to see her face. Not that he minded. She was dressed in a long red floral patterned dress, clearly New Asian in style, and had a few visible tattoos.

Eli was into it.

"Why don't you tell me a little bit about your career?" He asked as soon as they were off in the little side room.

"I'm an assistant stunt coordinator. For movies." Her voice was kind of husky. God, that was hot too.

"No, not the job you put on your form, I want to know about the stuff you do where you climb buildings." He grinned at her.

She seemed to take a moment to think about it. "It's not all that exciting. My team and I just take photographs from the tops of buildings and post them on social media."

"I think it's pretty neat. My friend was showing me a bunch of your pictures the other day." He grinned at her. "If you want to add a picture from the roof of the palace sometime, I'm sure that could be arranged. Don't try it on your own, though, unless you're into getting shot."

She nodded, as if she had expected that and would never be stupid enough to do such a thing. "That might be nice." She smiled politely at him.

"We'll do it sometime," he agreed. "Time's up, though."

Liath had seemed rather detached, but if he got to know her better maybe they'd have something in common. He hoped they would, because she was hot.

Fuck, he was so shallow.

They headed back into the ballroom, and Eli called for the next girl. "Lady Lennox? You're up next."

Lennox stepped out of the crowd. She was another girl with New Asian roots, but she didn't catch his eye as much as Liath had. He knew she was one of two sixes, so he'd probably be wise to keep her around for a few weeks, even if she wasn't a stand out. "So, Lady Lennox. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

She hesitated for a moment, as if she was considering telling him something, but didn't want to spit it out, before saying, "I'm a waitress, from Columbia. Why don't _you_ tell me about yourself?" She asked in what was clearly supposed to be a flirty tone.

Eli barely restrained himself from bursting out laughing. She was so clearly not into that, it was hilarious. She was one of the younger ones, she was probably inexperienced. "I'm a prince, from Angeles. Very boring. Come on, you can give me more than that? What's your favorite color? Favorite food?"

"My favorite color is black. And I like barbeque." Eli noticed that her dress was black, and wondered if she had picked that dress because black was her favorite color. Probably.

"Oh, me too. I like to tell people that black is my favorite because it's the color of my soul."

She rolled her eyes at him. He was impressed that she dared to do that. She was definitely staying for a bit, just for that.

"Yeah, I know, it sounds stupidly edgy, doesn't it? That's on purpose, I think it's funny." He glanced over at the clock. "Unfortunately, our time for right now is up."

She nodded, and headed back to the group. Lady Georgina was going to be among the first to go, Eli decided that from the first sentence out of her mouth. Next up was Lady Nefertiti. At twenty-six, she was one of the five girls who were his age or older, which made her a keeper, at least for a few weeks, before he had even met her. Some of the girls were just so damn young.

Nefertiti's dress was a very bright neon greenish-yellow, which was a choice that certainly made her stand out. Eli thought he had seen construction workers wearing similar colors. She would be memorable alright. "So, you work for a news station, is that correct?"

She nodded. "That's right. I have my own show every morning at eight o'clock. Or I had, someone else took it over just before I left."

"Have you been enjoying your stay in the palace so far?" He mentally kicked himself for not asking anyone else that question yet. It would have saved him a few awkward silences.

"I have. It's been interesting to meet so many new people. Everyone here is so different. What do you think?"

"Yeah, there's definitely a lot of different personalities here." Eli could tell already that they were all different, which was good. He had half expected all the girls to be similar and boring, but he was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.

"What are your hobbies? What do you like to do?"

He paused for a moment, blindsided by the question. He hadn't expected any of the girls to just ask about him like that during the first meeting. "I don't have many hobbies. I spend too much time working." He had had hobbies, but that had been a year ago. "What about you?"

"I like to write, and I really love my job. I like to keep up with the news, and learn about other people and cultures."

Eli nodded. It was too early to judge, but maybe she could be a good Queen. Maybe if he thought of this less like dating and more like a job interview, it would be easier to handle. "Time is almost up, Lady Nefertiti."

Lady Kendall's most outstanding feature was that she was from Dominica, but she wasn't actively annoying, so it wouldn't hurt anything to keep her a few more weeks. Eli discreetly checked the list Lindsey had left, and noted that the twins were up after Lady Isla. Interesting.

"Lady Isla?" She stepped out of the crowd, and Eli's first thought was that she was very pretty. She reminded him of Isabelle in a lot of ways, but also she was very different in a lot of ways.

They headed off into the side room, and Eli said, "So, Lady Isla. You've been living in France up until recently, haven't you? How do you like it?"

"It's very nice. If…" She hesitated for a moment, then said, "If it wasn't for the Selection, I would still be there."

Eli was sure she had been about to say something else, but then had decided not to, but he didn't ask, although he had to wonder if entering the Selection had been entirely her choice. "You're studying art history right now, aren't you? Why don't you tell me about that."

She seized on that topic eagerly, and they were soon having an enthusiastic conversation about art. Eli had taken as many classes on the topic as he could get away with in college, so he knew enough to keep up. He was almost sad when he had to say, "Time's up, Lady Isla, unfortunately." She was definitely topping his list of people he wanted to spend more time with, though.

The twins were next. "Lady Ixchel?" He called out, hoping he had pronounced her name correctly. She didn't say anything as he led her back towards the room all the introductions had been done in so far, so he probably hadn't done too badly. "So, you're a law student. You'll be a lawyer like your father?"

A flash of some emotion crossed her face, and Eli wondered if her relationship with her father was strained. "I'm going to be a public defender after I graduate. Like my father used to be." Ah. Suddenly that made perfect sense. She didn't like her father's decision to move from helping the poor to being on call for the Royal Family. He wondered why she had signed up, knowing that winning the Selection would mean she couldn't do that. "I'm planning to continue my studies while I'm in the palace, so I can still graduate on time."

She wasn't planning to win, then. That was interesting. "One of the libraries should be opened up for the Selected to use later today, so you'll have a place to study."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Eli glanced at the clock, and noticed that he was already falling behind. "Time's up, Lady Ixchel." They returned to the ballroom, and as Eli called Yunuen's name, he wondered if it might be better to eliminate Ixchel before the semester started. He'd have to think about that.

It immediately became obvious that Yunuen was not at all similar to her sister. They weren't identical for one, Yunuen's dress was much more form fitting than her sister's had been, and Yunuen seemed almost opposite her sister in personality. As they stepped into the side room, Yunuen tossed her long dark brown hair, and said, "Good morning, Your Highness." She gave him a flirtatious smile.

Shit. Was she flirting? She was flirting. Flirting was the one thing Eli had never understood or known how to deal with, so he was in trouble. "It's just Eli," he said, brushing a strand of his hair out of his eyes nervously.

"Eli, then." She smiled a little bit wider.

"Um, good morning to you too, Lady Yunuen." He mentally swore at himself. He wasn't supposed to use filler words like that, that had been hammered into his head since the age of five. "You're a nursing student, right?" He tried to take the conversation back to territory he could handle.

"I am."

"Will you be continuing your studies while you're in the palace, like your sister?"

Crap. That had been the wrong thing to say. Yunuen looked rather annoyed by the mention of her sister, but went back to smiling quickly. "I won't be. I'm not Ixchel." Even though her tone was light, Eli could tell that she wasn't particularly fond of being compared to her sister.

"I didn't say you were." He glanced at the clock, and saw that time was up. Thank goodness. "I was just wondering if you were going to continue studying, that's all. Unfortunately, our time for today is up." He led her back to the group.

"Lady Violet?" Violet was one of the few fives in the Selection, and she was an artist, so Eli was definitely interested in meeting her. Her dress was far more boring than he had expected, given what she had been wearing in the picture he had seen, so he made a mental note to have a word with Lindsey and see what he could do about letting her pick her own clothes. Nefertiti had clearly picked her own dress, and the only thing Eli could think of that made the two different was caste, and that just plain wasn't fair.

He led her back into the side room, and said, "How have you been liking the palace so far, Lady Violet?"

She glanced around at the room they were standing in, looking at the ornate detailing up near the ceiling and the expensive carpeting on the floor, before answering. "It seems like too much excess, when people are hungry, especially since all of this comes from taxes."

She was right. Maintenance on the palace did come from taxes, but with an attitude like that, he wondered why she had ever signed up for the Selection. She probably needed the money. Eli remembered reading that she lived with her father and her older sister, whose husband had died in an accident.

She suddenly seemed to realize that that might not have been a good thing to say to the Crown Prince, and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, it's very nice, just kind of excessive…" She trailed off, as if she had realized she was digging herself a deeper hole. "It seems like the kind of place you would like." Ouch. It was nothing new, it just still hurt to know that people thought poorly of him, even though it was by his own design. She clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing that she had screwed up even more. "I'm sorry. I just believe in honesty."

"Don't worry about it, it's true that the palace is excessive and I know it." He sighed tiredly. "You're safe, don't worry about it." It wasn't her fault for believing that the image he had intentionally created really was him. "Time's up, Lady Violet. We'll talk more some other time. Just watch what you say. I don't bite, but I know people who do."

Lady Alessandra was extremely obvious in her attempt to get Eli to sleep with her, and he immediately decided that she was going to be part of the group leaving on Friday.

Lady Zenya was a different case than most of the other girls. It had come up in her background check, so Eli was already prepared. He made his way over to her, since she wouldn't be able to hear him call her name. He stood close enough that she would hopefully be able to read his lips. "Lady Zenya? It's your turn." Hopefully she would get that.

She clearly did, because she nodded, and followed him into the side room. Once they were there, he wasn't really sure what to say. "How are you, Lady Zenya?"

It took her a few moments to answer, obviously spent trying to figure out what he said. "I'm good. How are you?"

Tired, was the honest answer. But since when was Eli honest? "I'm fine. How are you liking the palace so far?"

"It's very pretty. Very big. You could get lost just in the area the Selected are allowed to be in."

"Well, that's about to get worse. They're going to open up a library, the music room, and a few smaller sitting rooms for the Selected this afternoon." He could tell that she hadn't gotten much of what he had just said, so he repeated it before she could ask.

"Oh boy. So I'm going to get even more lost then?"

"Probably."

"Oh well. They say getting lost is the best way to learn your way around."

He nodded. "That is true. But I don't know if you can ever really learn the whole palace. I've lived here most of my life, and I still don't really know my way around some parts of the palace."

She nodded, but he could tell that she hadn't really gotten it. But time was up, so he couldn't repeat himself. He was going to have to learn some sign language, or buy her a smartphone, or write to each other, or something, because this wasn't going to cut it.

Lady Mina was next. She was a classic dumb blonde who said 'like' far too much. Eli made a mental note to eliminate her as soon as possible as he called the next name. "Lady Calista?"

She stepped forward, and they headed off into the smaller room together. "Why don't you tell me about your hobbies, Lady Calista?" He asked.

"I like figure skating, photography, and I like horror movies, even though I can't sleep for a week afterwards." She laughed, fiddling with a strand of her hair.

Eli laughed too. "I haven't been skating since I was… maybe eleven? I can't remember. I'm sure it would be a lot harder now than I remember it being."

"Probably," she agreed. "What about you? What are your hobbies?"

He repeated the same answer he had given Nefertiti. "I don't have many hobbies. I spend too much time working."

"Oh. That's a shame. Maybe you should take a break sometime, and do things you enjoy. Too much stress isn't good for anyone"

"Maybe I will." Another lie. He felt as if he was never going to get even enough of a break to catch up on sleep, much less do fun things. The world wasn't just going to stop so Eli could have some space to breath.

He felt a flash of guilt about how easily he lied. What did it say about him that he lied constantly, to everyone he knew? Probably nothing good. "Time is up, though, Lady Calista." He walked her back to the group, still feeling guilty.

He briefly surveyed the group, wondering if he ever could be honest about how he felt with any of them.

Unfortunately, the answer was probably no.

Lady Jodie, Lady Gabriella, and Lady Saige were three different types of definitely not right for Eli. And they were all three blondes, which in Eli's book was the final nail in the coffin after their less than stellar introductions. He'd probably keep Gabriella and Saige a few more weeks, since they were high castes, but Dad would be pleased if he just went ahead and eliminated Jodie, who was a poorer four, so he would.

"Lady Adelynn?" He called. She was blonde, he knew, so he didn't have high hopes, but maybe she would surprise him. It was really unfair to judge her based solely on her hair color.

She came out of the crowd, smiling widely. "Everyone calls me Addie, Your Highness."

"Lady Addie, then," he agreed as they headed towards the side room. "And it's just Eli." He held open the door to the side room, and let her enter first. "How have you been liking the palace so far?"

Addie fiddled with a strand of her hair, tucking it behind her ear and moving it forward again repeatedly. She had gotten a haircut since she had had the picture that had come with her form taken, Eli noticed. "I love it. I never thought I'd get the chance to see the palace from the inside. I've seen pictures, of course, and I drove by the gates once during my first trip to Angeles, but I never even dreamed of getting on a tour."

He wondered momentarily how she had been to Angeles before, before remembering that she was a flight attendant. "I'm glad you've been enjoying your stay so far. Why don't you tell me a little bit more about yourself?"

She took a moment to think about it, fiddling with her hair still. "Well, I'm a flight attendant, and during my times off work I'm a lifeguard. My family lives right up near the ocean, so I practically live on the beach when I'm home. I love basically everything to do with the ocean. I swim, surf, snorkel, and sail." She shifted slightly from foot to foot, as if she had too much energy to be properly contained.

"Oh, I love the ocean too. We'll have to go surfing together sometime. I haven't been in ages, so you'll have to promise not to laugh at how much I'm sure I'll suck."

Addie nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds great!"

"We'll do it sometime then." He glanced up at the clock. "Time's up for today, though."

She nodded, still smiling widely as he led her back to the group.

"Lady Florida?" She stepped forward, wearing a tan, almost sheer but not quite, dress with splotches of sparkly purple decoration place seemingly randomly on it.

She smiled at Eli. "People call me Flo. And yes, I'm named after the American state."

He had assumed he was, since it wasn't exactly not obvious, but he nodded like he had been wondering that and led her into the side room. "Why don't you tell me about yourself, Lady Flo?"

Flo immediately began talking. "Well, I'm from Midston, I just turned nineteen in June, I want to study journalism so the people can hear the truth. I like shopping and makeup and I like to ride. I've heard great things about the stables in the palace, maybe I'll get a chance to go sometime while I'm here…" She continued on, but Eli tuned her out, glad she was willing to do all the talking. She was the twenty-fourth girl, and Eli's nonexistent energy was starting to run low.

Eventually she stopped, and Eli said, "That all seems very interesting. Maybe you will get a chance to go riding while you're here." He personally wasn't a fan of riding, but since Flo was the daughter of Midston's governor he'd probably have to suffer through. "Time is up for today, though."

Eli walked Flo back to the group, but just as he was about to call the next name, a guard tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, "A guest is here for you at the west entrance. He's on the approved list."

Eli nodded, and whispered back, "Thank you. Let him through. I'll be there to say hello after I finish up here." The guard hurried off to do as instructed, and Eli turned back to the group.

Twenty-four down, eleven to go.

* * *

**AN: I suck at writing flirting, so sorry. **

**If anyone is wondering, Eli is 5'7".**


	11. Chapter 11

_The Small Ballroom, The Palace, Angeles, July 7th, 11:19am_

_Elijah_

Eli had somehow become even more tired over the course of the morning, even though he hadn't thought that was possible. But somehow, it was, and he still had eleven girls to go.

The next girl on the list was Lady Kelsey, who talked about her job in detail so boring Eli thought that she ought to start recording herself talking as a sleep aid. Eli barely managed to not yawn while talking with her, and was relieved when time was up and he could call the next name. "Lady Helena?" A slender brunette with a pixie cut and a dancer's body stepped out of the crowd. She wasn't wearing heels, but she was still taller than Eli, by at least two inches.

Once they were in the side room, he asked, "How have you been finding your stay at the palace so far, Lady Helena?"

"It's Lena, please." She smiled at him, and he got the distinct feeling that she wasn't looking at a person, just another rung on a ladder. Eli had been lying since the age of five, he knew exactly what he was looking at. "It's so beautiful here. I have such a wonderful view of the gardens from my rooms." Her smile widened slightly, the picture of sweetness and innocence.

She took a step closer, and Eli thought she was going to try to touch his arm, but she didn't. Eli was no idiot, and he knew the type. He had encountered dozens of them over the years. She couldn't hide from him with her sweet smile. It was kind of a shame, she had cool hair. "That's good. I'm glad you've been enjoying your stay so far." He was tempted to fidget with his own hair, but didn't. Even when there weren't any cameras, he was still acting. "What do you enjoy doing? Other than dancing?"

"Dancing is my life. I'm very dedicated. I have worked very hard to rise through the ranks." She did reach out to touch his arm on those words, making it very clear that while she might have been hardworking, that wasn't the only thing she had been doing to reach her position.

Eli nodded. He got the idea. "I'm sure you have. However, time is up, Lady Helena." He purposefully didn't use her nickname. She would get the message. He knew what she was offering, and he wasn't interested. For the moment, at least. She wasn't immediately out just because she was trying to sleep her way to the top. She could be a good candidate if it turned out that he needed a marriage of simple convenience. She was already a favorite of the press, and she was a liar just like Eli. She could be just what he needed.

He walked her back to the group and called out the next name. "Lady Lydie?"

Lydie stepped out of the crowd. Her hair had been cut during the makeovers, down to a length similar to the length of Eli's hair. It was a great look on her, Eli liked it better than he had the longer hair.

He led her back to the side room, and asked, "You're a pilot, right? That's so cool."

She nodded. "I am. I love to fly, it's so free. The whole sky is in front of you, and you can see everything below you. Nothing can touch you. Except maybe a bird." She laughed. "But that doesn't happen very often, and it's never happened to me." She had a bit of an accent. Eli couldn't quite place it, but it was cool sounding.

Painfully, it reminded him of Isabelle's accent. Hers had been stronger, a much more obvious southern Midston accent. Or at least it had been when he had met her. After four years in Sonage and two more in Angeles, it had faded somewhat.

Eli pushed away the memory and laughed too. "Well, that's good. It would suck if a bird knocked you out of the sky. What else do you like to do, other than flying? I'm afraid I'm not allowed to do anything fun, so that doesn't give me much in the way of date ideas."

"Well, I like to hike and kayak, and I like to ski. But really I'm down for any kind of adventure," Lydie said with a smile.

"We'll go kayaking sometime then. I like kayaking. But we are absolutely not getting into a two person kayak. Ever. I made the mistake of doing that with my sister once, and we couldn't paddle in sync to save our lives. It did not go well, and I don't want to repeat that experience any time soon." He smiled at her. It was slightly forced, as every other smile that morning had been, but nobody would be able to tell.

She nodded. "Sounds like a plan, then."

"Alright, sweet. We'll have more time to talk then. Unfortunately, time's up for today."

"Okay. See you later, Eli." She turned as if to leave the room.

Eli couldn't help but smile, the first one hundred percent genuine smile of the day. He was pretty sure she was the first of the Selected to use his name rather than his title. "Hang on a second, I'm supposed to walk you back."

Once Lydie was back to the group, Eli took a peek at Lindsey's clipboard to see the names of the last nine girls. He spotted a name that was all too familiar, and realized that her turn was coming soon. It had been more than five years since he had seen Willa, and he wasn't particularly interested in seeing her again. Admittedly, he was just as much at fault for what had happened as Willa and Ernest were, since he had known about the planned marriage too, although he had been off at college then and had believed that the plans had been abandoned.

Still, he didn't particularly want to see Willa. He had known vaguely that she had gotten Illéan citizenship and was living in one of the northern provinces, but he wondered what had possessed her to enter the Selection. And what had possessed Dad to choose her.

There was, fortunately, one more name before he had to speak to her. "Lady Thea?" He called out.

She stepped forward, wearing a floor length red dress with lace half sleeves. Eli led her off into the side room, and asked, "How are you, Lady Thea?"

"I'm great. I've been making loads of friends since I've been here and it's been awesome."

"That's good. I'm glad you've been having a good time. Why don't you tell me a little about your family? I've heard you have nine siblings."

She nodded. "I do. I have three older brothers, two younger brothers, and four younger sisters. And my older brother's girlfriend, who's practically another sister."

"I bet they're a handful. I only have a third as many siblings, and I only had two when I was a kid, and they drove me insane." He didn't mention Willa, who had been basically another annoying little sister during the years she had lived at the palace.

"Oh they're a handful alright," she agreed. "But I love them anyway. There's a lot of us, but we're all pretty close, and even though my brothers and I don't live at home anymore, we still all spend time together pretty often."

Eli nodded. "I mostly like mine too. Mel is a sweetie, she'll probably come by the Women's Room to hang out sometime this week. Jenn probably will too. I don't know when any of you will get a chance to meet Charles." Hopefully Charles would stay away from the Selected. Eli wanted to keep up the facade that they were all happy for as long as possible. "Time's up for right now, though."

He led Thea back to the group, and took a deep breath before calling the next name. "Lady Wilhelmina?"

She stepped out of the crowd, looking pretty much the same as she had at seventeen. A little bit older, since she was now twenty-three, but still the same.

Once they were together in the side room, Eli wasn't quite sure what to say. "So. Willa."

She nodded. "It's nice to see you again, Eli." She smoothed her skirt down. "The long hair is a good look for you, I like it."

He decided to just cut right to the chase. "What the fuck are you doing signing up for the Selection?"

She seemed a little bit taken aback by his words, and he was reminded that she hadn't really known him since he had been twelve. "My aunt suggested that I sign up."

And by suggested she meant picked and criticized and manipulated until Wilhelmina finally agreed to sign up. Eli had met her aunt, she wasn't exactly a pleasant woman.

"Are you going to eliminate me?" She tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear.

He shook his head. "We're in the same boat here." She knew his father, she would know what he meant. "Come on. Times up." He headed for the door, Wilhelmina following behind him. He walked her back to the group, then checked Lindsey's clipboard for the next name. "Lady Elaine?"

She was the third girl with New Asian heritage, and was very pretty, with shoulder length black hair. Eli led her into the side room, and, once they were there, asked, "So, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"I'm a preschool teacher." She paused for a moment to consider what to say next. "I dance, but that's just a hobby. What about you?"

"I'm afraid I'm too busy with work to have very many hobbies." He changed the wording a little so it wouldn't sound like he had come up with a canned answer in case the Selected compared notes later on. "What's your favorite color?"

"It's yellow. What about yours?"

She didn't seem like the type to appreciate his standard joke about his favorite color being black like his soul, but he made it anyway, just to say something to fill the time.

She was not amused, but she tried to hide it with a smile. He felt as if he was getting the smile she reserved for preschoolers, and he was kind of offended, but not particularly. It was a stupid joke, and not even really funny. "That's nice," she said politely.

Damn it. He hadn't made a very good impression. "Well, unfortunately, time is up." It wasn't for another minute, but this was awkward now and needed to be over. He led Elaine back to the group, and called the next name.

Lady Paige had an interesting tidbit about Elaine having been summoned to see Melissa the night before that Eli made a mental note to talk to Melissa about at some point. He had a major problem with her interfering with the Selected, especially so soon.

Four more to go. "Lady Angelique?" He called. When she stepped out of the crowd, he noted with relief that she had gone back to her natural red hair color during her makeover.

Once they were together in the side room, she said, "Everybody calls me Jade, it's my middle name. Nobody uses my first name."

Eli nodded. "Jade, then. That's an easy switch. You can call me Eli, forget about the titles. Why don't you tell me about yourself? What's your favorite food? What do you enjoy doing?"

"My favorite food is steak." Great, she had expensive taste. Wonderful. Exactly what he needed. They weren't going to get along very well then. "I play golf, piano, and violin."

Eli despised golf, but he didn't say that. At least she liked music. "Oh really? I've never had time to learn how to play piano. I played guitar for a while in college though." He didn't say anything about why he had stopped. That was none of her business.

She nodded. "That's nice. What else do you enjoy doing?"

Eli gave the same canned answer he had given everyone else, just with a few words changed, then told her they were out of time to spare them the coming awkward silence.

"Lady Marlee?" She stepped out of the crowd. Her dress ended just above her black high heeled boots, which were tall enough to put her even with Eli, maybe even a little bit taller.

He had been especially excited to meet her, since she was a songwriter. He had attempted to write songs a few times, back when he had still played. As far as he knew, the notebooks were still in a box in Mom's basement.

Eli didn't think he was actually up to getting back to playing, but that didn't mean he wasn't interested in what Marlee did.

"So, Lady Marlee. You're a songwriter, right? What instruments do you play?"

She nodded. "I play guitar mostly. I'm a pretty decent singer too, if I do say so myself."

"And what kind of music do you write?"

"Mostly pop stuff, since that's what sells. I write some other stuff on my own time, but mostly I have to write things I can sell."

He nodded. "That makes total sense. What else do you enjoy doing? Other than playing music?"

"I like to stargaze. And I like to go out and have a few drinks, have a good time. I like rock climbing, too."

"Me too. Nothing wrong with having a good time." That was basically a lie. There was nothing wrong with a few drinks, but it didn't top his list of favorite hobbies. He had to keep up the playboy persona somehow, though.

She nodded enthusiastically. "I just wish my fucking stepmother thought that."

Eli could see the exact moment that she realized she had sworn in front of the Crown Prince of Illéa, during their very first meeting, on her face, and he just laughed. "Don't worry about it, I've got a stepmother I like to swear at behind her back too." Eli was still rather annoyed with Melissa about speaking to Elaine before he had even gotten the chance to meet her, so he was perfectly happy to trash her to make Marlee feel better. Eli glanced up at the clock. "Time's up, Lady Marlee. We'll have to commiserate over shitty stepmothers some other time."

Only two girls to go. "Lady Cassandra?" He called out. She was another redhead, and a very pretty one at that. Even looking at her face in real life, he didn't recognize her, but since Micah said they had met, they probably had.

Eli led her into the side room, and stood facing her. Her green eyes were just as eye catching in real life as they had been in her picture. He ignored the painful reminder of Isabelle's green eyes, and said, "How are you today, Lady Cassandra?"

"I'm well, thank you. What about you?"

"I'm fine. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

"Well, my father is an ambassador. Joshua White? Maybe you know him?" Eli nodded. He did know Joshua White. He was very involved in any diplomacy with the German Federation. Cassandra continued. "I like to paint, I do a lot of painting. My favorite color is red. I speak fluent German and French."

"Oh, that's neat. My German is decent, and my French is better." Most of his knowledge of German consisted of things he needed to know for diplomacy, swear words, and insults, but she didn't need to know that. "I've done some painting too, when I have the time."

She smiled at him, playing with a strand of her hair. "Maybe we can paint together sometime."

Huh. That was bold. He hadn't expect one of the Selected to suggest that they do something together sometime. "We'll see. Time's up for today, though, Lady Cassandra."

Eli called the final name, and led her off into the side room. He was very glad that Lady Erin was the last girl, since her perfume gave him a headache. He ended up cutting their time together a little bit short, eager to be done. It was well past noon already when he finished, and Eli was thoroughly worn out and very hungry. He stepped out of the ballroom to find Micah waiting for him, leaning up against the wall. "Hey. How'd it go?"

"I dunno." He shrugged. He wasn't really sure how he felt about all the girls he had met yet. There were so many of them, and they had all been so different. And so many of them had been painful reminders of the past in one way or another. "Let's get out of here. Find something to eat. Something for my headache."

Just then, a servant appeared. "Your Highness? Your father requests your presence in his quarters for lunch."

Ugh. Lunch with Dad was the last thing Eli wanted to deal with while he tried to figure out just what he thought of all the Selected he had met that day. But he didn't have much of a choice. "Scratch that, I guess," he told Micah with a shrug. "See you later." He turned, and headed up towards Dad's private sitting room.

He knocked on the door, and waited for approval to enter. Once he had it, he headed in and sat down in the empty chair. Dad was already seated, reviewing one of the Selected's forms with a glass of wine in hand. When Eli sat down, he lowered the form to look at him. "How did it go, son?"

"It went alright."

Dad nodded, and gestured for a servant to step forward with a bottle of wine. "Wine?"

Eli shook his head. "No thanks." He needed to stay sober to figure his shit out.

Dad raised his eyebrows, and gestured for the servant to step back again. Eli wondered if he should have accepted and pretended to drink for the sake of appearances, but it was too late now. "Did you decide who you're going to eliminate on Friday?"

Eli had, in fact, decided. "Georgina, Alessandra, Mina, Jodie, and Paige." Georgina and Mina for being annoying, Alessandra for being all over him, Jodie to please his father, and Paige because she was a snitch.

Dad nodded approvingly. There were no twos in that bunch, so Eli had expected that. "And who will you be taking on dates this week?"

Eli hadn't thought about that, so he just spat out the first two names that came to mind. "I'll take Brielle and Isla." He half regretted that choice as soon as he had said it. He could have taken Liath, or Lydie, or Marlee, or Adelynn. Oh well. He had liked Isla pretty well, and he had to know if Brielle was serious when she said she was willing to play any part she needed. So, really, those were good choices.

"Excellent. They'll both do. Let's talk about the girls for a moment. Discuss strategy."

Strategy. That word made Eli feel kind of gross. They were people, not pawns to be used in some giant game. Except that's what it was. Even Eli himself was a pawn. "Alright."

A servant brought in two bowls of soup, and another one following behind him brought in a basket of rolls. They set the food down on the table, and left the room.

"Let's see." He reviewed a list briefly. "We have Adelynn and Lennox, both Sixes. Obviously neither of them will do, but it would probably do to keep them in for a month or so, for the looks of things."

Eli nodded. He had expected that too. And that meant if he really wanted to keep one of them a little bit longer, he could say something about the media to excuse keeping them.

"Violet and Zenya are both Fives, and neither of them are cut out to be Queen. I know you've got a soft spot for artists, but you've got to acknowledge that." He shook his head. "Zenya was a random choice, but still she never should have gotten in."

Eli hesitated for a moment. Dad was kind of right about Zenya and Violet. He thought back to his meetings with both of them, and realized that, even though he was being a dick, Dad was more than right. Still, he'd give them both a chance. "Maybe they'll surprise us," he said noncommittally as he reached for a roll.

"We have quite a few Fours. Dahlia, Pauline, Malia, Kelsey, Erin, Lydie, and Thea. What did you think of them?"

"I kind of liked Lydie. Thea too. It certainly won't hurt anything media-wise to leave them in for a bit." We? This wasn't Dad's Selection, it wasn't his damn choice. But Eli kept his mouth shut. He knew better than to point that out.

"And for Threes we have Elaine, Marlee, Ixchel and her sister, Calista, Nefertiti, Riley, Saige, and Kendall. Elaine's stepmother is quite friendly with Melissa, did you know that? Melissa asked for Elaine to be included specifically."

Eli had not known that. That explained a lot. No wonder Melissa had wanted to see her the night before. "I didn't." He guessed that meant he had to give Elaine a fair chance, despite the slight awkwardness of their first meeting.

"You'll have to watch what you say to Nefertiti. You know she's a journalist, and you can't trust her not to spill everything she knows when she gets out of here. She works for one of our stations right now, but that can always change."

"I'll keep that in mind." Eli wasn't particularly planning to trust any of the girls with family secrets, so it didn't really matter.

"Marlee is rather… problematic, really. She likes to drink, just like you. While she might appear to be an appealing choice because of that, be wary. Being with her does not spin a good story, and I suspect she's rather rough around the edges."

Eli hid a smile, remembering his meeting with her. Rough around the edges was about right. Isabelle had been like that. His smile faded at the memory.

"Of course you know Ixchel and Yunuen's father. Either of them would do. Calista would be a lovely choice as well. And so would Elaine." He glanced back down at his list. "We have quite a few Twos. Gabriella, Cassandra, Isla, Helena, Brielle, Wilhelmina, Gemma, Florida, Liath, and Angelique. What did you think of them?"

"I obviously liked Isla and Brielle, since I'll be taking them out later this week." He didn't say anything about how he had liked Liath and Gemma too. The less information his father had the better.

"Angelique and Brielle are really just filling space. Gabriella, too. Pretty faces, nothing more," he said dismissively.

Eli personally thought that if Dad knew what Brielle had offered him, he wouldn't think of her as just a pretty face. But he said nothing, just nodded along, even though it kind of bothered him to dismiss people outright by their looks. God, he was such a hypocrite. He would eliminate Jodie solely because she was blonde and didn't make a good first impression, after all.

Dad continued. "Helena is a good option. She has a good success story too, since she used to be a five. She'll please the lower castes. It would be nice to have an in with Gemma's father, and marrying her would get us just that, so don't take her out of the running early. Wilhelmina is good too. We already have very close ties to the German Federation thanks to Aunt Andrea, but it wouldn't hurt us to get a little bit closer. Especially since the deal with Ernest and Jenn fell through. Isla will do, if you like her. Same for Liath and Florida. Cassandra is an excellent prospect. I know for a fact that she's more than prepared to be Queen after the Selection is over."

Ah. So it was Helena and Cassandra Dad was going to gun for. He should have expected that. He took a bite of his roll, and nodded. It was nice to know who Dad's favorites were.

"Of course, I would be perfectly happy for you to pick any of the fours on up. It's your Selection, after all."

Yeah, right. Eli didn't believe that bullshit for a minute.

He played nice all throughout lunch, but was very relieved when it was over and he could go back to his room, finally take something for his slowly worsening headache, and have a chance to think about things for a while.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. A servant came up to him in the hall, and said, "Your Highness, your guest is waiting downstairs."

Eli gave him a confused look. "What guest?"

"He arrived at the West Entrance while you were with the Selected this morning. You told the guards to let him through."

Oh, right. Eli mentally went through the list of his friends who he had given instructions to the guards about at some point, trying to think of who it might be. Micah was obviously there already, Zach was still in France with Adrienne, Isabelle was dead, and he couldn't think of anyone else that he had even spoken to since college.

He followed the servant down to the room his guest was apparently waiting in, even though he couldn't think of who it might be. He pushed open the door to see Jay standing in the middle of the room, hands shoved in the pockets of his ripped jeans.

That was a surprise. Eli hadn't thought that he'd ever see Jay again.

Today was really the day for ghosts from the past. First Wilhelmina, now Jay. It wouldn't be a total surprise if Isabelle came back from the grave, he thought sarcastically. "What's up?" 'What's up' seemed insufficient for the first time seeing someone who had ended a friendship by throwing punches at a funeral, but it was the only thing Eli could think of to say. "I see you got new tattoos. They look great." Jay had apparently finally scrounged together the cash for that second full sleeve, and it really did look great.

"Yeah." Jay shuffled his feet awkwardly. "So, um, how are things?"

"How do you think?" It came out snappier than intended, but Eli didn't care. Ask dumb questions, get snappy answers.

Jay pulled his hands out of his pockets and held them up in a pacifying manner. "Jeez. Look, Eli, I didn't come here to start shit all over again." He slid his hands back into his pockets.

"Then what the fuck did you come here to do?" Eli headed for the door. He wasn't interested in rehashing a year old conflict. His head hurt and he wasn't in the mood to deal with this.

"I… uh… I came to apologize."

Eli paused, one hand on the ornate door handle. "Seriously?" He hadn't expected that. He had figured Jay had come to chew him out for having a Selection, even though it had been more than a year.

"Yeah."

Eli took his hand off the door handle. "Alright. Shoot."

"I'm sorry I gave you a black eye at your girlfriend's funeral."

Eli stepped away from the door. "Thank you." He waited, giving Jay a look that made it clear that he wanted him to continue.

"Um… And I'm sorry I said those things. I wasn't thinking straight."

Eli nodded. "Maybe I wasn't thinking straight at the time either."

"Yeah, cause you were…" Eli gave Jay a look, and he winced, looking down at his shoes. "Yeah, I'm not going to finish that sentence."

"Thank you." Eli crossed the room to clap him on the shoulder. "We're good."

Jay looked up from his shoes. "What? Seriously?"

"Seriously. We're good." Eli turned and headed for the door again. "Come on. How long has it been since you've seen Micah?" They still had a long way to go towards being friends again, but they could work on it. Maybe it would be nice to have someone else around who knew about what had happened.

* * *

**AN: And introductions are done! Who are you all rooting for? **

**Thanks to BagsyB for beta reading for me!**


	12. Chapter 12

**TW: Mention of suicide**

_The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 8th, 10:11am_

_Florida Smith, 2, Midston_

Flo sat in a corner of the Women's Room, laptop sitting on the table in front of her. She wasn't writing, not yet, just observing the other girls, trying to work out which one was the lizard.

Off in one corner Adelynn, Thea, Lydie, and Marlee had gathered. Adelynn was clearly not the lizard, since she was a Six. Thea and Lydie were Fours, and Marlee was a Three. They were most likely all safe.

She turned her attention to Angelique, who was sitting alone, looking rather lonely. She was a Two, and an actress, so she was a definite possibility. But the potential that she might just be an actress to distract from the real lizard was always there. Same for Brielle.

Cassandra was another strong possibility, as was Wilhelmina, who, being German royalty, was actually guaranteed to be a lizard. Perhaps there was even more than one lizard in the group. There were so many strong candidates, after all. She considered that possibility for a moment. Yes, that was highly possible, and definitely would have to go in her blog post.

Helena, who was sitting near Wilhelmina and Brielle, appearing to hang on to Wilhelmina's every word, was out, since she had previously been a five. Zenya and Violet, the two actual fives, were also out.

Calista, a Three and a nurse, _could_ be a lizard, but Flo thought it was unlikely. She just didn't look the type. Elaine was a preschool teacher, so Flo knew it wasn't her. Why would a lizard become a preschool teacher? Unless they wanted to brainwash children in the public schools. She hurriedly typed that out in her open document. She'd have to collect more evidence and make a blog post on the potential that lizards might have taken over the schools. Something like that just couldn't be ignored.

Gemma and Isla were both Twos from wealthy families, making them obvious potential lizards. She noted their names, and sighed in irritation. There were so many possible lizards. How was she ever supposed to work out who it was so she could reveal the truth?

Ixchel and her twin sister, who's name Flo couldn't remember, were probably not lizards, although their father was a lawyer, and everybody knew lizards were all over the justice system. She sighed, and noted their names down.

Lennox was a Six, so she was clearly not a lizard, even though she had refused to believe Flo that the earth was flat. She blamed it on the public school system. It poisoned the minds of the lower castes against the truth. Wait… The fact that Lennox had refused to believe her was clearly evidence for the school system being run by lizards! She hurriedly noted that down as well, as evidence for the post she was now planning.

Liath was a Two, but Flo didn't think it was likely that she was the lizard. A lizard would choose a job with more influence than climbing buildings and taking pictures. Although her family was involved in the movie industry, and Hollywood was swarming with them. Therefore she had to go on the list, and couldn't just be dismissed outright.

Flo knew that Nefertiti worked for a news station, making her a strong candidate. The lizards controlled the news, of course, since they couldn't have word of their existence getting out. She noted her name down on the list.

None of the other Selected were practically likely to be lizards, so Flo started ranking her list in order of likelihood. She wanted to get her blog post out by the next afternoon, to make sure Illéa's people stayed informed. She couldn't have them buying into misinformation!

* * *

_The Selected's Wing, The Palace, Angeles, July 9th, 1:27pm_

_Angelique "Jade" West, 2, Waverly_

Jade wandered down the hall, heels clacking on the floor. She had worried after her slightly awkward first meeting with Prince Elijah that she would be eliminated right away, but she hadn't been. In fact, nobody had been. Lindsey had told the Selected that the first elimination would take place after the Report on Friday, which was still several days away. So that meant she had at least a few more days in the palace, and she intended to take advantage of her freedom, no matter how temporary it was.

Several rooms other than the Women's Room had been opened up for the Selected to use. Jade hadn't been down the corridor to explore, but she knew some of the other girls had, even though she hardly spoke to them. They were all giving her judging looks, and she couldn't stand it. It was better to just not talk to them. So she'd have to go see for herself what was down there. The Selected got a little bit of free time after lunch every day, and they were allowed to wander anywhere in the approved areas, under the watchful eye of the guards.

Jade peeked into a room to the left, and saw that it was a library. Ixchel was at a table against the back wall, reading a book. Jade was tempted to go in and have a look at all the books, and see if there was anything she wanted to read, but there were still other rooms that she wanted to peek inside.

The sound of someone playing piano seeped out of a room across the hall. Jade guessed it was a music room, and didn't bother to peek in. She was free here, she didn't need to spend any time practicing if she didn't want to.

She felt kind of bad about lying to Prince Elijah about her hobbies on Sunday, but there was nothing she could do about it now. It just meant that she'd have to pretend to enjoy things she hated on their dates. Which was nothing new. Pretending to enjoy things she hated was just her life. She had a reputation to uphold, for the sake of her career.

She stepped into another room, just to see what was inside. It appeared to be a game room, with glass-doored cabinets full of games along one wall, a few tables for card games or board games, an obviously expensive leather couch facing a fireplace, and a billiards table in the center of the room.

One of the other Selected was already in the room. She was looking through a cabinet where the cues and balls for the billiards table were kept. She turned when Jade stepped in. "Hey. I don't think we've met." byShe turned from the cabinet and held out a hand. "I'm Isla."

She looked friendly enough, so Jade stepped forward and reached out to shake her hand. "I'm Jade. It's nice to meet you," she said politely. She could use a friend in the palace. Someone who wouldn't judge her like everyone else seemed to.

Isla nodded. "It's nice to meet you too." She picked up a pool cue. "Do you want to play?"

Jade nodded. Very few people knew it, but she loved to play pool when she got the chance. "Sure." She would always take a chance to be herself.

* * *

_The Selected's Wing?, The Palace, Angeles, July 9th, 2:11pm_

_Yunuen Hamilton, 3, Tammins_

Yunuen was hopelessly lost. She had intended to get the lay of the land, since she had nothing better to do. The Selected were given free time to socialize after lunch, but Yunuen wanted to soak up the luxury of the palace more than she wanted to get to know some of the higher caste Selected.

She had set out from the Women's Room after lunch, wandering through the palace, taking in the beauty of the ornate decor and the views of the gardens out the windows. She imagined what her own life might be like if she lived in a place like this. She would be on the very top of the social ladder in Illea. She would finally prove that she was better than her sister, better than all the other people who had looked down on her.

Caught up in that happy fantasy, she had wandered farther than she had realized. An elaborate clock she had never seen before hung on the wall, stating the time. She was eleven minutes late for lessons, and she didn't even know how to get back to the Women's Room from here. She wasn't even sure she was still in the Selected's Wing. She glanced around, looking for a guard. Lindsey had told all the Selected on the first night that if they ever got lost all they had to do was seek out a guard for an escort back to where they were supposed to be.

There were none nearby, however. That was a little bit odd. Yunuen would have thought there would be guards all over the palace.

A door opened at the end of the hallway, and Yunuen turned to see who was there. A man, the least formally dressed man Yunuen had seen during her time in the palace, stepped through the doorway. She wondered what he was even doing there. He had full sleeve tattoos on both arms, and wore extremely ripped jeans with a t-shirt with a logo so faded it couldn't be read. Surely someone who looked like that had no valid reason to be visiting the palace. He closed the door behind him, and turned towards Yunuen. He spotted her almost immediately, and was clearly surprised to see another person. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

She smoothed her skirt, and glanced around for the guards again. He looked very suspicious, surely she ought to report him to somebody. "Just looking around."

He walked down the hall towards her. "You're out of bounds. If you're one of the Selected, that is."

How did he know where the boundaries for the Selected were? Maybe he did have a reason to be in the palace after all. "I'm one of the Selected, yes. I got lost."

He laughed. "Sure. Lost."

She shot him an offended glare. "What do you think I am? A thief? A spy?"

He shook his head. "No, I just think you're nosy."

He wasn't entirely wrong, but she was lost. "Maybe I'm just lost. Like I said I was." She folded her arms, still glaring.

"If you were lost, I'd offer to take you back to where you ought to be."

"And since I am lost, I'll accept." He was rude, but she didn't see anyone else who could help her find her way back to the Selected's Wing. She uncrossed her arms, in order to appear slightly more friendly.

"Alright then. Let's go." He started down the corridor, gesturing for her to follow. She followed. She was already late, she didn't have any other choice.

"What's your name?" She asked as they walked. She could still report him to the guards later to make sure he actually was supposed to be in the palace.

"Jay," he answered. "Yours?"

"Yunuen." She might as well just ask what he was doing there. It was already probably too late to be friendly. "What brings you to the palace?"

"I'm a friend of Eli's." Jay continued walking. "I'd ask you what brings you here, but we've already been over that."

She nodded. A friend of Prince Elijah's. Appearances were most likely deceiving, then. If he was a friend of Prince Elijah's, he was most likely a Two.

He led her in a direction she didn't recognize. She didn't know the layout of the palace, but she was sure this wasn't the way she had come. "Are you sure this is the right direction?"

"Yeah, of course." He made a turn, seemingly at random, and Yunuen followed. He might not be going the correct direction, but she didn't have any options other than following him.

"Are you sure?" She asked again as he made a few more confusing turns.

"Yes," he answered, with slightly less confidence than he had before. She was now convinced that he didn't have a clue where he was going, but she kept following him anyway.

A few turns later, they stood outside the doors to the Selected's rooms. He raised his eyebrows at her. "I don't know where I'm going, huh?"

Maybe he had known after all. "Oh. Well. Thank you."

He nodded. "No problem. See you around." He turned and headed down the corridor, in the direction they had come.

She hurried towards the Women's Room, knowing she was already late for lessons. Fortunately, even though she was twenty minutes late, they hadn't yet begun. A group of girls had gathered around Brielle, asking her for details about her lunch date.

Of course a Two had gotten the first date. Yunuen had held out hope that she would get the first date, even though she hadn't made the best impression possible on him, but apparently she wasn't good enough. Wasn't pretty enough. Wasn't rich enough. Not high caste enough. She sat down in her seat with a scowl.

From the front of the room, Lindsey gave her a stern look, clearly having noticed that she had walked in late, compounding Yunuen's feeling that she wasn't good enough. She couldn't even manage to show up to lessons on time. She would never be able to reach the top. She would never be able to prove herself, never show everyone that she was worth something after all.

* * *

_The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 10th, 1:21pm_

_Elaine Walton, 3, Carolina_

The door to the women's room opened suddenly, and Mel came sprinting in, sliding on the freshly polished floor in her tights. "Lainey," she shrieked, dark brown hair flying wildly behind her as she sprinted in.

Brea followed behind her, holding a pair of children's dress shoes. "Princess Melody Edwina Louisa Shreave! Inside voice, _please_. And no running."

Mel leapt up on the couch next to Lainey. "Hi Lainey." She threw her arms around her. "I haven't seen you in ages."

Lainey smiled at her. It had been too long since she had last seen Mel. "Hi Mel." She hugged her back. "How are you?"

"I'm sick of school. It sucks."

"Be polite, Melody," Brea chastised.

Mel made a face at her, and looked around the room at the other Selected. It was free time, so there weren't very many others around. Brielle, Cali, Gemma, Thea, and Violet occupied various couches and chairs throughout the room. "Hi guys. I'm Mel."

They all introduced themselves to her, and Brielle moved to sit closer. "Do you like princess songs?" She asked. "I know a lot of princess songs."

Mel shook her head. "I'm already a princess, I don't need to pretend. Do you know any songs about superheroes?"

Brielle looked kind of shocked. "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"That's okay. I'll learn one and teach you, and then you will."

"Are you sure you don't want to hear one of the songs I do know? I know lots of songs about mermaids," Brielle offered.

Mel thought about it for a moment, and shook her head. "Nope. How was your date with my brother yesterday? Are you going to fall in _love_?"

"How did you know I went on a date with Prin— Eli?"

"Oh, I was listening to him and Micah talk about it yesterday. He's on a date with Isla right now, did you know that?"

Lainey had not known that. It suddenly occurred to her that Mel could be a fount of knowledge about Eli for anyone who cared to listen. What if someone tried to befriend her just to gain an advantage? Lainey would have to keep an eye out. She didn't want that to happen.

Mel glared at Brielle, hard. Lainey knew Mel, so it wasn't a shock, but it was still a rather vicious glare for a seven year old. "You never did answer the question."

"Oh! Well. It was nice," she said diplomatically.

"That's good." Mel leapt up from her seat. "Anyone want to play hide and seek?"

Most of the others in the room, including Lainey, agreed. On their way to play, they picked up a few extra players, including Lydie, Jade, and Lena.

Mel announced the rules and boundaries, and immediately declared that Lainey was the first seeker. Lainey was not one to deny Mel, so she agreed, and went back into the Women's Room to count to thirty while the group hid.

She found Lena and Jade first, and they joined her in looking for the others. Thea was beneath the billiards table in the game room, and Calista was in a corner behind a potted plant in a hallway. Gemma was concealed behind a curtain in the music room, and Brielle was found underneath a table in the library. Lydie was behind the open door to the library, out of sheer luck more than anything else, and Violet was standing behind a potted plant, in a darkened sitting room, up against wallpaper with a similar pattern to that of her dress.

There was only one more person to be found. Mel. The group searched high and low, but couldn't find her anywhere, and Lainey was starting to think that they might get in trouble for somehow losing a princess, when she spotted Micah down the hall. Talking to a potted plant.

"If you're playing hide and seek with the Selected, you're out of bounds."

"No I'm not," the potted plant said, in Mel's voice. Lainey smiled. That was just like Mel, to hide somewhere out of bounds.

"Yeah, you are. By like five feet, but still."

"Hmph." The leaves of the potted plant shook, and Mel climbed out from in between them, not bothering to smooth her rumpled skirt.

They both turned, and spotted Lainey just down the hall. "Looking for this?" Micah said with a grin, pointing down at Mel.

Lainey nodded. "I am." She crouched down to get on Mel's level. "Found you!"

Mel came sprinting down the hall. "Am I the last found?" She asked enthusiastically.

"You are." Lainey smiled at her, straightening up.

"Awesome! That means I get to seek next round." She continued sprinting down the hall, back to the group of the Selected.

"You're Lainey, right?" Micah asked as Mel sprinted back towards the group

"Yes, that's me. Why?"

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "You're the one who spoke to the Queen on the first night."

"Yes," she said nervously, not sure where this was going.

"What did she want?"

"She's friends with my stepmother. She just wanted to ask how she and the rest of my family are doing."

Micah nodded. "Oh. Okay. That's alright then." He turned away, and Lainey got the distinct feeling that he had come to the Selected's Wing with the express intention of asking her that question. And since he was Prince Elijah's friend, it was more than likely that he had sent Micah to ask.

She hoped this wasn't a signal of the end of her time in the Selection.\

* * *

_Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 11th, 4:03pm_

_Wilhelmina von Schmidt, 2, Labrador_

Lindsey walked into the Women's Room three minutes late, Jenn following behind her. Wilhelmina felt a sudden rush of nerves at the sight of her, but Jenn didn't even look Wilhelmina's way.

Jenn had changed a lot in five years. Her hair was shorter now, and she had changed how she styled it. Now, instead of the elaborate braids she had kept her hair in as a teenager, it was down, and just barely past her shoulders. She was dressed in a knee length navy blue dress with a white blazer over it, and white flats. That was familiar. Jenn had always worn flats as a teenager, even though she probably could have used the extra few inches. She was nearly six inches shorter than her older brother.

Lindsey reached the front of the room, and turned to address the group of the Selected. "Today we will be discussing the history of the royal family of Illéa. I've brought Princess Jenevieve in to help me today."

Jenn gave the group a wave, still not looking in Wilhelmina's direction, and Lindsey continued talking. "Does anybody know who founded Illéa as we know it today?"

Cassandra's hand shot up in the front row, and Lindsey pointed at her. "Gregory Illéa."

"That is correct, Cassandra." Lindsey wrote his name on the top of a whiteboard, and drew a line connecting his name to another name. "He married Bethany Shreave, the sister of his closest friend, Brenton Shreave." She wrote Brenton's name on the top of the other side of the whiteboard, and connected it to Bethany's name.

"Gregory Illéa had three children, does anyone know their names?"

Cassandra raised her hand again, but Lindsey didn't call on her, instead scanning the room to see if there was anyone else. Wilhelmina knew the answer, but she didn't say anything. She didn't want to call attention to herself.

Ixchel raised her hand, and Lindsey nodded to her. "Katherine, Spencer, and Damon."

"Correct." Lindsey drew lines from Gregory and Bethany, and wrote those three names there. "Kathrine married into the royal family of Swendway, and Spencer sadly passed away far too young, leaving Damon as the heir to the throne." She drew in more details of Brenton Shreave's children. "Brenton Shreave had two children, and his oldest went on to have a son, named Porter. We'll come back to that in a moment."

She returned to the Illéa half of the family tree. "As I was saying before, Damon was the only heir to the throne. During the very first Selection, he chose Grace Lowell as his queen, and they went on to have a son, Justin Illéa. Now, this isn't often discussed outside of the family, but during Justin's Selection, the second one ever, he chose Abby Tamblin, who went on to betray him by falling in love with Porter Shreave, his cousin. Justin committed suicide, and Abby married Porter to continue the family line."

She sketched all that out on the family tree before continuing. "They had one son, named Louis, who chose Emily Blair during his Selection. Louis had three children, Victoria, Bartholomew, and Edward."

"While Victoria was officially the heir, she chose to give up her position in the line of succession to join a religious order. Edward joined the military, and died in his late thirties due to complications related to an injury sustained there." She drew all that out, and continued. "Bartholomew held a Selection, where he married a woman named Miriam. They had two children together, Hadrian and Clarence. There was a nearly ten year age gap between the two siblings."

"Hadrian served in the military for some time, and so did not hold his Selection until he was thirty-five." Lindsey added his and his brother's name to the family tree. "He chose Edwina, but shortly after their engagement was announced Hadrian died in a hunting accident. Clarence immediately stepped up to fill his brother's place, and rather than having a Selection of his own, just proposed to Edwina." She drew that out.

Jenn cut in. "Clarence and Edwina had three children, Richard, Andrea, and Anthony. As the oldest, Richard had a Selection, and chose Amelia as his queen. Andrea married into the German royal family and had two children, and she still visits Illéa to see her nephew every year in October. Her son currently sits on the German throne, and her daughter married into the Italian royal family. Anthony married a minor British princess, and had two children."

Wilhelmina was quite familiar with Queen Mother Andrea, even though she was quite a distant relation, and by marriage rather than blood. She had always been a kind and caring figure.

Lindsey picked up where Jenn left off. "Richard and Amelia had only one son, King William, who is currently on the throne, and has been for the past twenty-one years, after Richard stepped down after his wife passed from a heart attack. He chose Evelyn during his Selection, and they had three children together. Prince Elijah, who's Selection you are all participants in, Princess Jenevieve, who is right here with me, and Prince Charles." Lindsey moved back to the whiteboard to add the most recent generation to the family tree.

Jenn took over again. "Evelyn divorced King William eleven years ago, and he remarried four years later, to Queen Melissa. They had one child together, Princess Melody. I think she's been in here already."

There were a few enthusiastic nods throughout the room. Wilhelmina had unfortunately missed the time Mel had spent with the Selected, which was a shame. She would have liked to see her again.

"And that's the Illéan royal family," Jenn finished. "Does anyone have any questions?"

Flo's hand shot up, and Wilhelmina sighed. Flo had quickly picked up a reputation among the Selected for believing some absolutely insane things, so there was no way she wasn't about to ask something crazy. "Why did Porter Shreave inherit the throne after Justin Illéa died?"

That was a shockingly reasonable question for Flo. Huh. Now Wilhelmina wanted to know the answer herself.

"Well, Porter was the closest family member of the Illéas who wasn't part of the line of succession of another throne, so he was the default choice. He was also directly endorsed by Gregory Illéa, who was on his deathbed at the time."

Another girl raised her hand, in the back of the room. "What does the current line of succession of Illéa look like?"

"Good question," Jenn said. "Eli is first in line, and I am directly after him. Charles is next, and Melody comes after him. Anthony's children, Lyla and Wyatt, are fifth and sixth, and Wyatt's four children come after him. When Eli has children, they will come directly after him in the line of succession, my children will come directly after me, and so on."

There were a few more questions, which either Jenn or Lindsey answered, and then the lesson ended. Jenn hurried out of the room, and Wilhelmina followed. She wanted a chance to talk, a chance to apologize.

She just barely managed to catch Jenn before she made it into an area that was out of bounds for the Selection. "Hey, Jenn, wait up."

Jenn turned, arms folded. "What do you want, Mina?"

"I just want to talk."

Jenn turned away. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not interested in rehashing ancient history."

"I just want to say that I'm sorry, and that I didn't know."

"I know you didn't."

That was a surprise. Wilhelmina had expected that Jenn would still be angry with her. "You do?"

"Yup." Jenn turned around again. "Look, I can't play favorites, okay? Eli is relying on me."

"Since when does he rely on you?" The Eli and Jenn she remembered had been constantly at odds.

"You might have grown up here, but there's a lot you don't know, and you don't know as much about me as you think. I'm sorry, Mina, but I'm attending a formal dinner tonight, and I need to be ready."

"You kept secrets from me?" Wilhelmina asked. She had thought they had shared everything as children.

"This place is full of filthy secrets, Mina, and nobody in this damn family is honest."

"You can trust me." Like you used to, Wilhelmina wanted to add, but apparently that had never been true. "I never told anybody any of the things you told me."

Jenn's face softened for a moment, as if she too was remembering the good times that were now long past, but eventually she shook her head. "It's better for all of us if I take some things with me to the grave." She turned away. "Good luck with my brother, I suppose."

* * *

**AN: As Jenn said, the palace is full of filthy secrets, and we all know that Justin Illéa didn't commit suicide… Make of this what you will.**

**Thank you to BagsyB for beta reading for me!**


	13. Chapter 13

**TW: Brief discussion of heavily implied suicidal thoughts**

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, July 9th, 11:47am_

_Elijah_

"It's just lunch, how hard can it be?"

Eli shot Jay a glare. "Do you want me to rescind my acceptance of your apology or what?" He tossed a pair of clean socks at his head. "It's not that easy. Did I tell you guys what she said during the first meetings?"

Micah shook his head from where he sat on the foot of Eli's bed. "Nope. What did she say?"

"She said that she can play whatever part I need. I just have to tell her what the script is."

Micah's eyes instantly widened in understanding. He knew exactly what that meant, and why because of that she had been Eli's pick for the first date.

Jay gave Eli a confused look. "Why does that matter? If she's fake, just eliminate her."

Eli shook his head. "A good actress might be just what I need." He sat down in his desk chair, facing Jay, who was sitting next to Micah on the foot of the bed. "There is no way out of the Selection that doesn't involve a wedding or a funeral. Do you understand?"

Micah shook his head at Eli, as if warning him not to consider the funeral option too much. Eli just barely nodded in reply. He wouldn't. Didn't mean it wasn't still comforting to know the option was always there.

"A funeral?"

Eli nodded. "Yeah. Mine."

"Oh, Jesus," Jay mumbled. "Jesus fucking Christ, that's dark."

Eli stood up. "Yup." Better not to think too much about it. He patted Jay on the shoulder on his way out. "Let Micah show you the Selected's forms while I'm gone. Get familiarized, I'm recruiting you too." He headed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

He headed down to the second floor, towards the Selected's Wing, where he knew Brielle was waiting for him. She was waiting by the stairs down to the first floor, wearing a green dress with some sort of texture on the skirt. With heels on, she was almost as tall as Eli.

He smiled at her as he approached. "Hello, Lady Brielle."

She smiled back. "Hello, Your Highness."

"It's just Eli, please."

"Then it's just Elle."

"Alright. Let's try again. Hello, Elle."

Her smile widened slightly. "Hello, Eli."

"There, see? That's much better." He took her arm, and led her down the stairs and into the sitting room where they were having lunch. He pulled out her chair for her before going to sit down on the other side of the table.

A photographer stepped into the room, camera in hand. "I'm supposed to take a few pictures, for a spread on the first week of the Selection."

Eli nodded. "Of course."

The photographer gave instructions, and Eli was very glad that Brielle was an actress. She did very well at pretending to be having a good time, at the photographer's request.

When for the final photographer the photographer asked Brielle to laugh at something Eli had said, he saw his opportunity to break the ice. When she had left, Eli picked up his wine glass and took a sip before saying, "It's a good thing you're an actress, because we all know that I'm not that funny."

She laughed slightly. Eli couldn't tell if she thought it was genuinely funny or if she was just following the script she thought she ought to follow. Damn, maybe an actress for the first date had been a mistake after all. It was going to be impossible to get a read on her.

She raised her own wine glass to her lips. "Did you have time to think about my offer?"

He nodded. "I did." A servant brought in a basket of neatly sliced bread, and set it down in the center of the table, in between the two of them.

"And? What do you think? What do you want me to be?" She daintily reached out to pluck a slice of bread from the basket. "I can be anything. Do anything."

There were a lot of things he wanted, most of which he wouldn't get to have. Unfortunately that was just how it worked. Somebody who understood. Company during the long miserable sleepless nights. Hell, at this point he'd settle for a hug. "I need someone to help me tell a good story."

She raised her eyebrows. "And what does that mean?"

Eli hesitated for a moment, trying to decide what to tell her. She wasn't stupid, so what the hell? He might as well just tell her the truth. "You know the purpose of the Selection, right?"

"To find a queen?"

"Yes and no." He paused for a moment, taking a sip of his wine. "It's for show as much as anything."

"So it _is_ scripted then. I was starting to think it wasn't."

He shook his head. "It's not. Not technically. But also yes. It's about politics as much as it is anything else."

"Well, of course it is. You're picking the future queen."

"Yes, but it's a little bit more complicated than that. I need to pick a queen, but I also need to tell a good story while I do it, because all of Illéa is watching."

Brielle nodded in understanding. "I think I understand. So we're playing out a love story then?"

Eli nodded. "That's right. You've got the idea."

A servant brought out plates of food, and set one in front of each of them before exiting the room.

Brielle glanced down at her plate, and looked back up at Eli. "Is this coincidence, or did you pick my favorite food on purpose?"

Eli picked up his knife and fork. "It's coincidence." He smiled slightly at her. "I guess this love story thing is off to a good start then."

She took a sip of her wine. "I suppose it is." She tilted her glass slightly towards him. "To a good love story then."

He nodded, and picked up his own glass, clinking it lightly with hers before taking a sip. "To a good love story," he echoed.

* * *

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, July 10th, 1:10pm_

_Elijah_

Micah picked a form up off Eli's desk, and passed it to Jay. "Alright, so here's tomorrow's girl."

Jay scanned it briefly. "Isla Grant? She's kind of pretty."

Micah rolled his eyes and smacked him lightly over the head with Violet's form. "Don't talk about their looks, Eli says it's objectifying."

Eli looked up from the report he was reading. "Because it is, how would you like it if a bunch of women were sitting around judging your looks?"

"I'd be into that," Jay said, flipping a page to read the report on Isla's background check.

Eli sighed. "Of course you would be. I shouldn't have asked." He snatched Isla's form out of Jay's hands, and tossed it back on the desk. "Hands to yourself, please. I don't want to have to punish you." He turned to look at both Jay and Micah. "I honestly do not give a shit, okay? But for the love of God don't get caught." He returned to reading the report, even though it was hard to focus with Jay and Micah chattering in the background.

"I'm not planning on stealing your girls, don't worry." Micah rearranged the stack of forms on Eli's desk. "I've sworn off dating forever."

Jay gave Micah a confused look. "But you went home with that girl from the bar last night…"

"I said dating. I haven't sworn off sex. Two different things."

"Whatever." Jay held out a hand towards Micah. "Hand me Brielle's form again?"

Micah shuffled the stack around until he found it and passed it over to Jay. "Here you go." He reorganized the stack again so it was tidy. "Alright. Eli. Three dates next week. Thoughts?"

Eli shrugged, still attempting to read the report. "I dunno. I haven't even asked Isla out yet, I'm not ready to think about next week yet." He set the report down, and pulled three forms at random out of the stack, and passed them over to Micah. "Here. I'll go out with them next week."

"You haven't even asked Isla out yet? You need to do that. Like right now. She'll probably want time to prepare and stuff." Micah flipped through the forms Eli had handed him. "Erin, Saige, and Malia. Good choices. It'll balance out the fact that you picked all Twos this week."

Eli mentally facepalmed. He had, hadn't he? Fuck. That probably had been a bit of a mistake.

Micah rolled his eyes at him. "It'll be fine, you need to worry less. You haven't fucked up too badly. Yet."

"Was that supposed to be comforting? Because it wasn't." Eli started rummaging around in a drawer for a pen to write a note asking Isla out.

"It wasn't supposed to be comforting, so goal achieved."

Eli nodded. "I figured." He fished a pen out of the drawer, and drew a line across the back of his hand to see if it still had ink. It did, so he set it down and started looking for a sheet of paper.

Micah grabbed the pen off Eli's desk. "Why don't you go see her in person instead of writing a note?"

Jay nodded. "Yeah, girls like that kind of thing. You should go see her in person."

Eli found a sheet of paper, and held out a hand, silently asking Micah to please give him his pen back. "The other girls will get jealous."

Micah stood up and held the pen over his head, well out of Eli's reach. "It's free time for the Selected right now, just go have a look around and see if she's on her own in a small group."

Eli gave him an annoyed stare. Holding the pen above his head was a dirty, dirty trick. Completely unfair. Fine. If that was how Micah was going to play, Eli could play dirty too. "I order you to give me my pen back."

Micah just laughed. "What are you going to do if I don't? Cane me? Banish me from Illéa? Have me demoted to an eight? Throw me in prison?" He laughed again. "I don't think so."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Fine. Fuck you," he said jokingly. "Next time I will banish you. But fine. I'll go see if I can find Isla." He stood up, and headed for the door.

As he was on his way out, Micah called after him, "You like me too much to banish me."

Eli laughed. "We'll see." He flipped him off, and shut the door behind him.

Eli made his way down the stairs, into the Selected's Wing. He hadn't been there since before the Selected had arrived, so it would be interesting to see what had changed.

The curtains on the windows throughout the wing had been pulled back, allowing the sun to shine through and make patterns on the floor. It was significantly cheerier than it had been with all the curtains closed. Eli could hear voices coming from a sitting room to his left, and the sound of someone playing cello coming from the music room, on his right. On a whim, he turned and headed inside.

Zenya was the one playing cello. That wasn't much of a surprise. He smiled slightly, and waited for her to finish, hovering in the doorway of the music room, one hand on the doorframe. She didn't see him, eyes fixed on the sheet music in front of her, completely engrossed in her playing.

When she finished, Eli stepped into the room and walked towards her. She looked up and spotted him when he was halfway across the room. He smiled, and waved at her.

She paused in her rearranging of the sheet music and lifted a hand to wave back, smiling. "Hello." She tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. She was very pretty, Eli couldn't help but notice. He hadn't noticed before, when they had first met, he had been too busy trying to figure out how they were going to communicate, but now he noticed.

He sat down on the piano bench across from her, hopefully close enough that she could see what he was saying. "How do you play, when you can't hear?" He gestured towards her cello. He played guitar himself, he couldn't imagine doing it if he couldn't hear it. How would he know if he had fucked up the finger placement if he couldn't hear that it was off? He wouldn't even be able to tune it, since he did that by ear too. He paused for a moment, wondering if he had screwed up. Probably. Better to apologize. "I was just curious, I'm sorry if that was a rude question. I play an instrument myself, and I do so much by ear, I couldn't imagine playing without hearing it."

He couldn't tell if she had gotten any of his apology, but she didn't seem to be offended. "I feel the vibrations of the music through the strings, and that's how I know it's right." She finished neatly stacking up her sheet music.

"Ah. I see." They lapsed into silence for a moment.

Alright, this wasn't going to work. At all. Eli fished his phone out of his back pocket and quickly typed something out in his notes. _Do you have a phone?_

He offered her his phone, and she read it, and shook her head before passing it back. "No, I don't."

"Well, there goes that idea," he said. _I'll get you one so we can text_, he typed, and passed his phone back over.

She looked surprised as she read the words on his screen. "Oh, you don't have to do that. We can communicate just fine as things are." She handed his phone back to him.

Eli raised his eyebrows, but didn't correct her. He'd let her stay stubborn if she wanted to be stubborn. But he'd buy her a phone anyway. "Well, I had a reason to come here, other than to listen to you play cello, so I'd better go."

She nodded. "Okay. Have a good day."

He smiled at her, and stood up, heading out of the room. Behind him, he could hear the sound of her beginning to play again.

He continued down the hallway, stopping to peek into an empty sitting room. He waved to Addie as he passed her, and stopped outside Isla's room. The door was slightly ajar, and he could hear the sound of voices coming from inside. He rapped on the doorframe, and waited, listening to the sounds of someone standing up and coming to the door.

Isla pulled the door open, revealing two easels set up in the middle of the room, with a cloth beneath them to protect the carpet. She had obviously been painting at one, and Violet was standing at the other, paintbrush in hand. "Oh, Your Highness!" Isla curtsied awkwardly, trying not to get any of the paint on her hands on her dress.

"Just Eli is fine," he said, running a hand nervously through his hair, probably messing it up.

As Isla greeted him, Violet looked up, and hastily put her paintbrush down to curtsy herself. "I'll be going then. See you later Isla." She left the room, brushing past Eli on her way out.

Isla reached for a cloth to wipe her hands. "Come on in." He stepped inside, as instructed, and hovered awkwardly in the doorway. "What brings you here?" She asked.

Eli shrugged. "I was just wondering if you'd like to go with me to an art museum tomorrow. As a date."

She shook her head, and started clearing away some of the painting supplies. "No, thank you."

He blinked at her, slightly confused. "No?" He hadn't been expecting that answer. The whole point of the Selection was to date, after all. "Why not?"

"It's weird," she said bluntly. "You're dating everyone else here, most of us who you've never met and you don't really know any of us. If I was in your shoes I'd feel a lot of pressure on every date that I went on, and I don't want to do that to you." She screwed the cap back on to a tube of paint. "So no, I don't want to go on a date. But I will go to an art museum with you tomorrow. But as friends. No romantic expectations. How does that sound?"

That actually sounded incredible. Eli smiled slightly at her. "Alright. You've got yourself a deal. I'll see you at one o'clock tomorrow in the entrance hall, alright?"

* * *

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, July 11th, 12:46pm_

_Elijah_

"Here's your date plan for next week, how does that look?" Micah handed Eli a piece of paper. "I don't know how, but you've somehow made me organized."

"It's a miracle," Eli said absently, accepting the piece of paper and giving it a brief glance over before setting it down on his desk and leaning down to tie his shoe. "Looks fine." He didn't actually take in a word of it, and Micah could tell.

"You didn't even read it." Micah rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I have other things on my mind."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, the whole fucking country?" He straightened up. "I have something else I want you to do today. I need you to go down to the Selected's Wing, and find out from Lainey what her time with Melissa on Saturday night was about."

Micah raised his eyebrows, and Eli suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to tell Micah about that. Whoops. "I'll explain later, just ask her what Melissa wanted to talk about. Okay?" Eli sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm over the Selection already and it's only been a week."

Micah laughed, and patted his shoulder. "It's going to be alright, man."

Eli didn't know if that was true or not. He wanted to believe it, but he really really doubted sometimes that everything was going to turn out okay. "Thanks." He stood up. "I'd better go, if I want to get to the entrance hall to meet Isla early."

Micah nodded. "I'll go talk to Lainey then. Good luck."

Eli nodded, and headed out of the room.

Outside of his room, Mel was waiting, one ear pressed to the door. Her eyes widened in shock when it opened and he stepped out. "You're going on a date?"

He gave her a mock irritated glare. "What are you doing here, you little spy?"

"Well no one tells me anything, so…"

He shook his head at her. "Go play, okay? You don't need to worry about this."

"Can I go see the Selected?"

Eli shrugged. "I don't see why not, but go and ask your mother."

She stuck her tongue out at him in irritation and sprinted off, presumably to ask Melissa if she could go hang out with the Selected. Eli didn't like Melissa, but he wasn't about to overrule her when it came to Mel. She deserved that much.

He didn't get to the entrance hall until a little bit past one, and Isla was already waiting for him there. When she spotted him, she smiled, and curtsied slightly. "Hello."

"Hello." He offered her his arm. "How are you?"

"I'm good." She accepted his offered arm, and they walked together out to the car that was waiting out front. It was a nondescript black car, with no outside clue that it contained royalty.

The driver opened the door, and Eli slid in, letting Isla follow him into the back seat. She smoothed out her skirt, and reached for her seatbelt.

The driver climbed in the front seat, and the car pulled away, heading down the front drive of the palace. As they headed for the gate, another black car pulled up in front of them, and another one behind. Their escort for the day.

The museum wasn't far from the palace, so it didn't take them very long to get there. There was hardly anyone else present at the museum, since it had been closed down for the afternoon for Eli and Isla's date.

They headed inside, and wandered through the gallery, taking in various pieces. Isla provided tidbits about the more famous works they passed, and Eli responded with stupid jokes, or occasionally serious thoughts on the art hanging on the wall. They didn't hold hands, and Eli was glad not to feel that he had to try.

When the date was over, Eli didn't really want it to end. He could have happily spent more time just hanging out with Isla. Especially since there was now no pressure to be romantic with her. But unfortunately work called, and they had to leave the art gallery.

On the way back to the palace, Eli turned to Isla and said, "We should do that again sometime, don't you think?"

She smiled at him. "We should. As friends."

He nodded in agreement. "As friends." He gave her a thumbs up. "Sounds good," he said, smiling.

The car pulled up outside the palace gates, and the driver opened the door. Eli was the first to get out. He held out an arm to walk Isla back up to the Selected's Wing. When they arrived there, lessons were going on in the Women's Room. They stopped outside the door.

"I'll see you around," Eli said as Isla let go of his arm.

She nodded. "Of course. I'd better go in to lessons, I've probably missed a lot."

"Yeah." He nodded understandingly. "I have to get back to work. Good luck with Lindsey."

He could hear her laughing as he walked away down the corridor.

* * *

_The Report Studio, The Palace, Angeles, July 12th, 5:41pm_

_Nefertiti Gamel, 3, Zuni_

The Selected filed into the studio, wearing all different shades and colors of sparkly dresses. Nefertiti herself wore an orange mermaid dress with a sparkly top section. Lindsey was waiting, holding a clipboard, dressed professionally, but casually. She would be behind the cameras tonight.

She directed the Selected to five rows of seven chairs that had been placed on the stage, giving each Selected instructions on what row to sit in. Nefertiti found herself on the front row, in between Brielle, who had had a date that week, and Addie, who was wearing a light pink dress with a high neckline.

The other girls chattered nervously behind her, but none of this was really new to Nefertiti, so she wasn't terribly nervous. She just glanced around, taking in the scene of the studio.

Techs scurried back and forth, adjusting and testing cameras and microphones. The red on air light on the back wall was off still, and would be for another fifteen minutes. Michelle, the host of the report, fussed with her hair, looking in a mirror set just off the stage.

She wanted to get up and ask all kinds of questions about the Report, to find out details about how it was created, but Lindsey had her watchful eye on all of the Selected, and Nefertiti didn't think she'd be particularly happy if one of them wandered off thirteen minutes before the Report began, so she just contented herself with watching everything that went on in the studio.

Jenn was fixing her lipstick in a mirror, calm, cool, and collected. Nefertiti wanted to try to get to know her, since she didn't know much about her. Jenn was dressed in a long light grey one shouldered dress, and her brown hair was pulled back in an elaborate bun.

Across the studio, Charles was glaring daggers at Eli, who didn't notice. Eli was sitting in a makeup artist's chair, letting her fix any possible blemish on his face while he scanned a document. He finished reading it, and handed it off to a nearby tech. She didn't hear what he said, but she did see the thumbs up he gave the tech. Whatever it was, he seemed to have approved of it.

He leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes as the makeup artist worked. She finished, and stepped away, letting someone else take her place. Eli looked up at the newcomer, and shook his head, running his fingers through his hair and saying something. He said something else that was lost in the chaos of the preparations for the report, and tilted his head slightly, which moved his hair back out of his face, and the woman turned away.

She wondered what was really up with Eli. She hadn't seen any hint that he might be the bad boy the media made him out to be since she had arrived at the palace. In fact, he just seemed… tired, really. The makeup artist had covered them up now, but he had bad dark circles, as if he never got enough sleep. Perhaps the lifestyle changes she had seen in the media last year had never been real at all.

Although he could just be tired from too many nights of drinking. But if that was true, there was still a reason for it, a reason Nefertiti intended to find out. People usually didn't change overnight without some kind of reason behind it. She had interviewed dozens of people in the years since she had begun working. None of them had made major life changes without a reason. Something had happened, Nefertiti was sure of that.

Mel's nanny had convinced her to sit in her seat already, even though there were still seven minutes left before the report would begin. Mel was fidgeting, though, and seemed completely unable to sit still. Her hair, which had been put up in a neat bun just twenty minutes before, was already falling loose, and her nanny was trying, most likely in vain, to get Mel to sit still enough that she could get it put back together before the report began.

Queen Melissa was sitting in her seat on King William's left, hands folded in her lap, a pleasant smile fixed on her face already. She unfolded her hands, and rested one warningly on her fidgeting daughter's knee, and Princess Mel stilled enough that her nanny could put her hair back in the tidy bun.

King William looked regal in a well-tailored black suit, with the emblem of Illéa pinned on it, marking him as the king. He had a blank expression on his face, with no hint of emotion on it.

The three older royal siblings stayed far apart until just minutes before the cameras came on. Finally, though, they took their seats. Eli on King William's right, Jenn next to him, and Charles next to her. Charles continued glaring at Eli, clearly jealous, right up until the moment a tech began counting down.

"Five, four, three, two, one."

The on air light in the back of the room came on, and the whole royal family changed.

Mel stilled completely, folding her hands neatly in her lap and uncrossing her legs. Queen Melissa's slightly frozen smile remained, but she reached out for King William's hand. He accepted her hand as his emotionless expression became a fatherly smile. Eli tucked a strand of his hair behind his hair, and adopted a half-smile, any trace of the tiredness Nefertiti had seen before wiped from his face. Jenn neatly slanted her legs, and sat up straighter. Charles mostly dropped his jealous expression, but not completely, and the signs were still there.

Michelle stood up, taking her place in the center of the stage. "Welcome, everybody, to the Illéa Capitol Report. Tonight we have the Selected with us, and don't worry, we'll be asking them some questions about their experiences this week, but first, we'll hear from Councilor White.

She stepped back, allowing Councilor White to take the stage. When he finished giving his report, she stepped back into the center of the stage. "Now, it's time for what you've all been waiting for." She headed towards Eli, microphone in hand. "So, Prince Elijah, you've met all the girls now. And a few weeks ago you told us that you'd 'know it when you saw it'. So tell us, what did you see when you met the Selected last weekend?"

He paused for a brief moment, as if he was thinking of his answer, but the pause was too short, and Nefertiti knew that he had pre-rehearsed it. "They're all very lovely and capable ladies, but there's only so much you can learn about a person in five minutes. I'll need to spend more time with them."

Michelle nodded approvingly. "How about we ask some of the girls?" She headed down the middle row, and picked a girl, seemingly at random. "Lady Lydie? What did you think of Prince Elijah?" She held the microphone out towards her.

"He was really nice, and I thought we got along well."

"Oh? Have we got a favorite then, maybe?" She winked at the camera as she headed back for the center of the stage. "Now, Prince Elijah did go on two dates this week, one with Lady Brielle on Tuesday, and Lady Isla on Thursday. Let's see what they have to say." She headed towards the front row.

Michelle interviewed Brielle and Isla about their dates, and asked Addie a few questions about life in the palace, before returning to the center of the stage to close the report out. Nefertiti hoped that she'd get a chance to have a look around and talk to some of the techs after the report. But even if she didn't, it was still enough of an experience just to see the Report in person.

"This has been the Illéa Capitol Report. Thank you all for tuning in, and good night, Illéa."

* * *

**AN: I asked everyone who gave me a Pinterest board if they would like to pick out dresses for their girls for the upcoming ball, and it seemed to be a hit, so I may consider asking for reader input again further along in the story. Let me know if that's something you would all be interested in! Thank you for reading!**

**Also, I'm considering posting Chapter 14 sometime this week instead of next Monday so I can post Chapter 15 sooner because I really like Chapter 15. What do you guys think?**


	14. Chapter 14

**TW: Talk about addiction and drugs**

_The Selected's Wing, The Palace, Angeles, July 15th, 12:57pm_

_Lydie Tyler, 4, Belcourt_

Lydie was walking down the corridor of the Selected's Wing, trying not to look uncomfortable. She felt as if the guards that were stationed every so often in the corridor somehow knew her secret and were about to arrest her, even though that was ridiculous.

Ixchel stuck her head out of the doorway of a nearby room. "Hey, Lydie, will you come in here for a moment?"

Lydie nodded, and stepped inside. She hadn't spoken to Ixchel very much yet, but she seemed friendly enough and Lydie was always down to make more friends. "What's up?"

Ixchel pulled an envelope from the pocket of her dress. Damn, how come her dress didn't have pockets? Lydie would have to ask her maids if that was possible. Ixchel held out the envelope towards Lydie. "This is for you. From a _friend_. For our mutual friend in Belcourt." She had never met Ixchel before, how could they have a mutual friend?

Then it dawned on her. She meant the rebellion.

Lydie had received a few letters from her family since arriving at the palace, but she had thrown them away without opening them, and she certainly hadn't written back.

With shaking hands, Lydie accepted the letter, and tried to think of a place to hide it. She couldn't just throw it away, what if the Selected's garbage was searched and it was found and opened? She knew her family wrote in predetermined code that would look like a perfectly normal letter to anyone reading it, but she didn't know what was in this note. She had thought she would be away from the rebellion here, but somehow it had followed her all the way to the palace.

"I'll see what I can do," she said nervously. It was easy to throw out her family's letters without opening them, but this would be so much more difficult. She didn't want to say no. How could she say no? This was important to her family.

She turned and left the room, letter still in hand. She couldn't go down the hall to play cards with Thea, like she had been planning to, she needed to figure out what to do with the note before she got caught with it and spent a lifetime in prison for treason.

Or was executed.

She stepped out onto the balcony, away from the watchful eyes of the guards, clutching the note. She looked down at it for a moment. The envelope was plain, a little worn, as if it had been carried around for a while. It bore no signs that it was a message from a rebel movement.

"Family troubles?" A male voice behind her asked.

She whirled around to see who it was. She had thought she was alone.

Micah was standing there, cigarette in one hand, looking questioningly at her. "You don't seem to want to open that." He gestured towards the letter in her hand with his free hand, raising the cigarette to his lips.

She looked down at the letter again. "No, I don't. Yes, family troubles."

He nodded. "I know the feeling. Hang on a second, I have a solution." He rummaged in his pocket for a moment, and pulled out a lighter. He waved it at her. "Here you go."

Oh, that was perfect. It would erase all the evidence of whatever the letter contained, and Lydie would get away free. She held out a hand to accept it, and he dropped it into her hand.

She stepped forward, placed the letter on the stone railing of the balcony, and set the corner of it on fire. Lydie felt bad about betraying her family like this, but she couldn't get the image of her hometown burning, just like the note, out of her head. That was what could happen if they did what they wanted to do. So really she hadn't betrayed her family by burning the note, she was just protecting them. Yes. Protecting them. That way she could do her duty to her family and to her country, and she wouldn't have to pick one.

The letter burnt quickly, leaving nothing but a small pile of ash, which Lydie quickly brushed away. She handed Micah his lighter back. "Thank you."

He nodded, accepting the lighter. "No problem. Like I said, I know the feeling."

* * *

_The Selected's Wing, The Palace, Angeles, July 15th, 1:10pm_

_Thea Verdant, 4, Sumner_

Thea dealt out the cards, and picked up her own hand. She grabbed another card off the top of the deck, took a peek at it, and passed it to Addie, who was on her left. Addie took a moment to look at it before removing a different card from her deck and passing it over to Cali, who Thea had finally gotten to agree to play with them. She had been hesitant, but Addie and Thea had finally worn her down.

Lydie came into the room, and sat down in the open chair at the table, in between Cali and Marlee. "Aww, you guys started without me?"

Thea quickly grabbed four cards off the top of the deck and handed them to Lydie. "No, there's still time for you to get in on the game." She added another spoon to the circle in the center of the table.

Cali passed her card over to Lydie, who passed it on down the line to Marlee, who took one look at it and set it down in the discard pile. Thea drew another card from the stack and passed it to Addie. It still wasn't what she needed.

They played in silence for a while, until Marlee said, "So, anyone have any pets back home? I have two dogs. Champagne and Baileys. My brother is taking care of them right now. He sent me a picture the other day."

"I have a goldfish," Thea said. "His name is Cecil. I tried to bring him here, but they wouldn't let me for some reason. I have no idea how a goldfish is a security risk, but apparently he was."

"I don't have any pets," Cali said, passing a card she no longer wanted on to Lydie.

"Me neither." Addie was focused on her cards, obviously thinking hard about the decision to discard or not.

"I have a dog. His name is Spots, because he's a Dalmatian." Lydie tried to sneakily reach for a spoon, but Thea spotted her, and scrambled to grab one for herself.

Addie was the only one without a spoon after everyone had grabbed for them, and she made a mock pouty face. Thea gathered up the deck of cards, and passed it to her so she could shuffle them.

"You're playing spoons? I was warned the Selected might fight, but I didn't think you'd try to intentionally start them." Eli came into the room, smiling slightly at them. "Or maybe it's just my weird family."

Thea shook her head. "Not just your family. My family will try to kill each other over this game too."

Eli sat down in an empty chair, in between Marlee and Thea. "Count me in for the next game. Unless you don't have another spoon somewhere. Where did you even get a bunch of spoons anyway?"

Thea did have another spoon, and she added it to the pile in the center of the table. "Addie sweet-talked one of her maids into borrowing them from the kitchens for her."

Addie nodded as she finished shuffling the cards. "It wasn't really that hard. I just asked politely. We're good friends." She dealt out four cards to everyone at the table.

Eli took a look at his hand, and seemed pleased with it. - That was not a good sign. Thea resolved to keep one eye on him as they played. Addie pulled a card off the stack in the middle, and added it to her hand, passing a different card on to Cali.

When Eli got the card, he immediately swapped it out for one of the ones in his hand, and passed a card on to Thea. Yup, she needed to keep one eye on him alright. He was probably very close to winning now. Sure enough, within a few minutes he had found the card he needed.

But Cali had gotten there first, and Eli had to join in a mad scramble to grab a spoon from the center of the table. He and Marlee both ended up holding on to the same spoon. She shot a mock glare at him, and he just grinned back. "I touched it first."

She rolled her eyes, and released the spoon. "Fine." She looked as if she was holding back a mock insult.

Eli noticed too, because he said, "Come on. Out with it. I guarantee you I've been called worse. I promise I won't eliminate you."

"Alright, dickhead," she said in a joking tone, grinning at him.

He laughed, and grinned back, wider than before. "Perfect. I knew you could do it." He set the spoon back on the table in front of her. "You can have it though, I came down here for a reason, not just to play cards. Has anybody seen Micah? He's supposed to be around somewhere."

Lydie turned towards him. "He's out on the balcony smoking."

"Okay. Sweet. Thank you." Eli stood up. "I'll be seeing all of you around. Have fun." He turned and left the room, leaving them to continue their game alone again. Thea removed the extra spoon from the game, and Addie passed the cards on to Cali to shuffle.

* * *

_The Selected's Wing, The Palace, Angeles, July 15th, 1:34pm_

_Elijah_

Eli stepped out onto the balcony, and was immediately met with a cloud of cigarette smoke. He waved it away, coughing. "Was that on purpose?" He asked Micah.

Micah nodded, taking another drag and blowing out another stream of smoke, not in Eli's direction this time.

"You're going to give me cancer, you asshole." Eli moved up to lean against the railing of the balcony. "And I'm going to smell like cigarette smoke all through my next meeting."

"Sounds like a you problem." Micah put out his cigarette on the balcony railing and tossed the butt in a flower pot.

"Yeah, you're right." He turned to look at Micah. "How'd it go?"

"What? Oh, right, you wanted me to play messenger boy for you. I gave Saige your note. How'd breakfast go with Erin?"

"She did not change her perfume, unfortunately." Eli made a face. "I ended it early and went to take something and lay down in a dark room. I think I'll eliminate her after the ball."

"That sucks. Feeling better now?"

"Yeah." Eli ran a hand across his face. "I skipped a meeting though. It wasn't anything important, fortunately. I pissed off some healthcare committee probably, but all I was going to do was sit there and nod along and look pretty."

Micah laughed. "You, look pretty?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Shut up, girls think I'm pretty, you're just straight."

"Okay, fair enough." Micah fished a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, pulled one out, and lit up another one. "I talked to a couple of other Selected."

"Hands off," Eli said jokingly.

"It's not like you actually care." Micah took a drag off his cigarette.

"I guess that's fair." Eli stared out over the gardens. It was true. He didn't feel much about any of the Selected. And he certainly couldn't imagine marrying any of them. He reminded himself that it was early still, that things could always change, that anything could happen over the course of the next few months.

By then he might even be over her.

Unlikely.

To distract himself from that thought, he asked, "Who'd you talk to?"

"Well, I saw Willa first, on my way to give Saige the note."

"Yeah? What did she say?" Eli still wasn't sure what he was going to do about the situation with Wilhelmina yet. The idea of dating her was just flat out awkward, and he knew there was still bad blood between her and Jenn. But he didn't want to send her back to face her family so soon. That he understood all too well.

"I think she still hates my guts." Micah blew out a mouthful of smoke. "Actually, I'm pretty sure she still hates my guts." He took another drag. "I don't hate her. Never really did, actually. And we're all adults now, it's stupid to not be over some petty childhood grudge."

Eli patted Micah on the shoulder. "Look at you! So grown up and mature," he said in an intentionally patronizing tone.

"Shut up, I'm older than you."

"Six months," Eli protested. "And we both know you're more immature than me."

"That's because you're the fucking crown prince, if I was about to be in charge of a country I'd be going grey at twenty-five too."

"I'm not going grey!" Eli ran a hand self-consciously through his hair. "Am I?" Now he was kind of worried about that. Stress did make people go grey earlier.

"No, you're not, relax. I was fucking with you. You still look like a sixteen year old."

"That's not a compliment, you asshole." Eli personally thought that he didn't look like a sixteen year old, but he was well aware that he looked younger than he actually was.

"It wasn't meant to be, I'm glad you recognize that. It'll be a compliment when you're fifty."

"Fifty and still getting carded at bars." Eli laughed. "I'm doomed to a life of having to show my driver's license every time I buy alcohol."

"When was the last time you got carded?" Eli didn't have an answer. He had never been carded. He had practically just walked into clubs well underage. Nobody carded the crown prince. "Hell, when was the last time you bought alcohol?"

Eli did have an answer to that one, even though he didn't actually physically go into a store and buy alcohol very often. "May 25th, last year." He had bought a bottle of wine the day before Isabelle's birthday, and they had gotten drunk together a day early and spent the whole next day in bed nursing hangovers and making out. Ten days later she had been dead.

"And did you get carded?"

"Nope."

"See?" Micah took one last drag off his cigarette, put it out, and tossed the butt in the flowerpot.

"You made your point. I'll probably never be carded, you're right, no matter how old I might look." Eli tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Did you talk to anyone else?"

"Yeah. Lydie came out here for a minute." Micah hesitated for a moment, fiddling with his lighter, flicking the flame on and off.

"Oh, I liked her when we met." He really had. She had seemed pretty cool, and he wanted to spend more time with her. It was a shame she hadn't talked much when they had played cards.

"Yeah. She has family issues, I think. Had a letter she didn't want to open. I loaned her my lighter so she could burn it."

Eli nodded. "I wasn't planning to send her home anytime soon either way, but I'll keep that in mind." He knew the feeling. So did Micah for that matter. "Heard from your mom lately?" He knew that Micah probably didn't want to talk about it, but Eli worried sometimes.

"Nope." Micah shoved his lighter back into his pocket. "And if I do it'll mean she's finally kicked the bucket, so I hope I don't."

Eli went to rest a hand on his shoulder, but Micah turned and headed back inside before he could. Eli sighed, but knew better than to follow. Micah would be fine, he probably just needed some space. He didn't like to talk about his mom, and Eli couldn't blame him.

Eli headed back inside a few moments later, once he knew Micah would be out of sight. He had one more thing to do before he headed off to his next meeting. He fished the box out of the bag he had left outside the balcony door, and headed down the hall.

He stopped outside of Zenya's door, and knocked on it. A maid opened the door. "Lady Zenya isn't here right now, can I help you?"

Eli nodded, and handed her the box. "Leave this out for her. Tell her it's from me." He really did want to get to know Zenya, and he intended to make the effort to try, even if it wasn't exactly easy.

* * *

_The Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 15th, 1:58pm_

_Zenya Laventis, 5, Sota_

When Zenya stepped into the Women's Room, she immediately spotted Addie waving at her from the front row, then pointing to the seat next to her. Addie usually sat in the back, in between Thea and Gemma, so Zenya was surprised to see her in the front. But after looking around to make sure no one else was directly behind her, Zenya headed to the front of the room.

Addie smiled widely as Thea approached. "Hi. I saved you a seat," she said, signing awkwardly as she did. Her grammar was off, but Zenya didn't mind. She sat down in the empty seat next to Addie.

"Thanks. But you didn't need to do that."

Addie shrugged. "I just thought that you needed friends. And what good is a friend who can't talk to you?" She signed every few words, obviously concentrating hard to try to remember the few words she had learned.

"Well, thank you." She would probably get along very well with Addie, she knew, but she didn't want anyone to only spend time with her out of pity.

Gemma slid into the seat on her other side, and passed a note onto Zenya's desk. _If you need any help with the lessons, just let me know. I'm always willing to help out_, it read.

Zenya turned towards Gemma. "Thanks, but I'll be alright." She didn't want to be that deaf girl everyone had to help. She could do this on her own.

Gemma nodded. "Well, the offer always stands. Just let me know."

The front row was a much better place than the middle row Zenya had been sitting in, and she had a much easier time trying to read Lindsey's lips as she spoke. Still, it was difficult. She was grateful that Lindsey wrote important things on the whiteboard as she talked, because it made it easier to pick out words from context.

"Alright, ladies." Lindsey clapped her hands. "We've got a very big event coming up this Saturday." She paused for a moment, for dramatic effect. "It's a tradition of the Selection that a ball takes place at the end of the first two weeks, to give the Selected a taste of royal life. And this Saturday, we will be reaching the two week mark. That means you will all need to be prepared for the event. We've already gone over proper address and behavior last week, so while we will be reviewing that as well this week, we will also be doing dancing lessons in preparation for the occasion. So that means I'll be needing you ladies to partner up."

It only took a few minutes for everyone to partner up. Addie grabbed Zenya to be her partner, and pulled her out into the middle of the floor. Neither of them were particularly good dancers, and Zenya couldn't hear the directions for their steps that Lindsey was giving, making her even worse.

Many of the other pairs were floundering similarly, but a few of them were doing well. Lena and Isla were near perfect already, and Brielle and Wilhelmina, Lainey and Violet, and Cassandra and Flo seemed to be doing well too.

After they had been through it once, Lindsey stopped everyone, and went up to Lena and Isla. She said something to them, then headed over to Zenya and Addie. She put a hand on Zenya's shoulder to get her to look at her, and said, "Why don't you go partner with Lena, since she already has the dance mostly down?"

Zenya nodded, and went to go dance with Lena instead, feeling rather annoyed. She didn't need help or special treatment, but everyone seemed determined to make sure she got it anyway.

Even with Lena's help, she didn't feel that she got any better at dancing, and was thoroughly discouraged by the time she headed back to her room an hour later. Her days in the Selection were numbered, she just knew it. The only reason Prince Elijah was still keeping her around was out of pity.

She stepped into her room, and immediately spotted a small box that clearly contained the latest model smartphone sitting in the middle of her dresser. "What's that?" She asked one of her maids.

She looked up from what she was cleaning. "It's from Prince Elijah. He stopped by to deliver it himself this afternoon."

He stopped by himself? Maybe her days weren't so numbered after all. She had heard that he was sending Micah to deliver messages most of the time. She went to open the box.

There was a folded note on heavy white paper sitting on top of the smooth black glass screen of the phone. Zenya picked it up, and carefully unfolded it.

_(310)-405-2541 _

_Text me_

_Eli_

She smiled slightly, and picked up the phone carefully, afraid she was going to drop it and break it. She turned it on, and found that it was partially charged. She went through the setup process, plugged it in to charge the rest of the way, and entered Eli's number in as her first contact. She couldn't talk on the phone with her parents, so there was no point in putting their number in, and she didn't know anyone else who had a phone that could text.

She hesitated for a moment, thinking that he was most likely busy, but then decided that she might as well just go for it. She sent a text to Eli. She was slow at typing it out, not used to typing on a screen like that, and still afraid that she was going to drop it.

Zenya: Hi this is Zenya

Zenya: Did I get the number in right

A few minutes passed, during which Zenya searched for apps to download, freaked out because she might have messed up the number, then freaked out again because what if he was busy and annoyed because she had texted. But eventually it buzzed in her hand, and a text popped up on the screen, then two more in quick succession. He was clearly a lot faster at this than she was.

Elijah: Hi!

Elijah: You did, it's Eli here.

Elijah: How do you like it?

She began slowly typing out a response.

Zenya: Good I was starting to get worried

Zenya: It is pretty nice I am still trying to figure out how everything works

Zenya: Where is the punctuation I can not find it

It took him a few more minutes to respond, and Zenya started to get nervous again, when a much longer message popped up on her screen.

Elijah: There should be a little button down in the left corner with numbers on it. If you hit that it'll change the keyboard so you can pick punctuation. And if you don't see what you need there, there will be another button on the left above the button to switch back to the normal keyboard with different symbols on it, and if you hit that you can see more. Does that help?

She hit the button he said to hit, and found the punctuation.

Zenya: Yes! Thank you!

Elijah: No problem.

Elijah: I'm technically in a meeting right now and probably shouldn't be texting under the table, so I'll talk to you later, okay? Feel free to text me if you have more questions and I'll answer when I have time.

Zenya immediately felt bad. She hadn't meant to interrupt anything.

Zenya: I'm sorry I didn't realize you were busy.

Elijah: Don't worry about it, it was boring anyway (:

Elijah: See you at dinner

* * *

_Near the Dining Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 15th, 7:16pm_

_Gemma Albright, 2, Likely_

Gemma made her way back from the dining room on her own. Many of the other Selected had already left, in groups and in pairs, but Gemma had waited a little longer, and so had to walk by herself.

The sound of glass shattering came from a room to Gemma's left, and then the sound of a male voice swearing. Her first instinct was to step into the room and see what was wrong, even though she was slightly out of bounds for the Selected.

She stepped inside, and saw Micah standing at one end of the dimly lit room, standing over a broken hand mirror. He turned at the sound of her footsteps, opening his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again upon seeing who she was. He was silent for a moment, clearly trying to figure out what to say. "Don't tell Eli," he said after a moment, with guilt all over his face.

Gemma took another step into the room. "What am I not telling Eli?"

He gestured wordlessly to the broken mirror on the floor, and, looking closer, Gemma could see that bits of partially crushed pills were mingled with the broken pieces. Her heart dropped. She had seen a scene like this a thousand times before, at party after party. But this was alone, in a dark room, at seven o'clock. And that was when you knew you had a problem, in moments like these.

Gemma was silent for a moment, trying to figure out what to say, how she could help. "Do you want to talk?" She offered eventually, unsure what else to say.

He hesitated, still staring down at the fragments of mirror on the floor, as if he was considering searching through the pieces to see how much of the powder he could salvage, but eventually he looked back up at Gemma. "Yeah. Sure." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "But not here." He looked down at the shards one more time before he stepped away.

"Of course not." She absolutely agreed that they shouldn't talk here. "Let's go upstairs."

He nodded, and followed her up the stairs, into a small, out of the way sitting room. He sat down on one of the couches, and Gemma sat down on the one across from him, smoothing out her skirt.

"You won't tell Eli, will you?" Micah looked away out the window, refusing to meet her eyes, most likely horribly ashamed of himself. Gemma knew the feeling all too well, and never wanted to feel it again.

"I won't," she promised. "But I think you should probably tell him yourself."

"Yeah, I know. But he has too much on his plate already." Micah turned back to look towards Gemma.

"Tell me then. I have nothing on my plate but protocol." She smiled encouragingly.

He sunk back into the couch, arms folded. "You wouldn't understand."

She crossed her legs neatly. "Try me." He had no idea just how much she would understand. In fact, she understood far too well.

"You wouldn't know unless you've been there."

"Maybe I have."

"You?" He laughed. "Come on. That's fucking crazy."

She shrugged. "There are people who would say that it's crazy for you to have a drug problem."

"Yeah, fair enough." He unfolded his arms. "What's your story, then?"

She hadn't intended to share, but if it put him at ease it might be a good idea. "When I was a teenager I turned to alcohol and partying as a solution to my problems." She shrugged. "We both know that's a terrible solution, right?"

He nodded. "It never works."

"Then I almost died. I drove straight into a tree, just before my nineteenth birthday. I was drunk at the time. I went to a party hours after I got out of the hospital. I was there, with a drink in my hand, and I realized that this wasn't healthy, this wasn't normal, and I had a problem. As much as I hated to think it, I was… am, an alcoholic. I tried to stop on my own, but I couldn't do it, so I got help. Made some changes, turned my life around. Tomorrow I'll have been sober for two years."

"I'm not an alcoholic," Micah said quietly. "I don't know how you can be here. There's alcohol everywhere."

"It's been a struggle," Gemma admitted. "But I keep in contact with my people back home, and that helps."

He nodded. "As of last Friday I have seven months." He held out his arm, and let her see the marks in the crook of his left elbow. They spoke for themselves, and she knew exactly what his drug of choice was. He hastily folded his arms again after letting her see. "Yeah. It's not exactly classy. Or what you'd expect from me."

"There's nothing classy about passing out in your own vomit," she said. "Which I've done. On multiple occasions. There's nothing classy about addiction. To anything."

"Yeah," he said, so quietly that she could hardly hear him. "I know."

"I'm not judging," she said firmly. "I judge no one for their demons. After all, I have my own."

"Thanks," he said, staring down at his shoes.

"Do you have any support? Other than Eli?"

He shook his head. "He's the only person who stuck around after it got so bad that I stopped being any fun at parties. And he's relying on me for a lot right now, I don't want to stress him out more."

Gemma knew the feeling all too well. She had had her own crowd of party friends who hadn't stuck around when she had gotten sober. "As long as I'm here, you can talk to me."

He looked up from his shoes, up at her. "What?"

"You heard me." She fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist. "I could use someone to talk to in person myself. Doing it over the internet just isn't the same."

"Like AA?" He asked. "But cooler, because I went once and hated it. Well, it was technically NA, but same difference."

"Sure," she agreed. "I'm in if you are."

* * *

_Cassandra's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 20th, 6:10pm_

_Cassandra White, 2, Allens_

One of her maids finished putting her red hair up into an elaborate braided bun, and Cassandra immediately waved her away once it was done. She wanted to do her makeup herself, to make sure it changed her face in all the right ways, without making her look tacky. It was important not to look tacky. The future queen should never look tacky.

She looked in the mirror, poking at a blemish on her face. Of course, she had to get a pimple just before the ball. She was supposed to be perfect, to catch Eli's eye with her beauty and queenly qualities. Pimples didn't work in that image.

Oh well. That was what makeup was for. She picked a brush up out of the cup all the palace-provided makeup brushes had been neatly organized in, and began the process of transforming her face, hiding every possible imperfection.

When she was finally finished, it was almost time to join the group of Selected to head down to the ball. She gave her reflection in the mirror a satisfied smile, and went to slip into her heels. Lindsey had told them earlier that day that the Selected would be announced in alphabetical order by province, making Cassandra the first to enter the ballroom, which was where she belonged.

She stepped into the hallway where the Selected had gathered, the picture of grace and poise. Nobody spoke to her, and she didn't speak to anyone. She hadn't exactly been mean, but she hadn't been particularly nice to any of the Selected either, and she was sure some of them had noticed that she didn't exactly bear goodwill towards anyone who was taking what ought to be her place.

She spotted Brielle, who had had the first date. Cassandra wondered what she had done to get that. She was sure she could have done it, and done it better, if she had known what it was. Maybe she had used some tactic that Wilhelmina had suggested. Cassandra wondered, not for the first time, if she had made a mistake in distancing herself from Wilhelmina. Could she have gotten clues that would have helped her make a better first impression, if she had sucked up? But no, sucking up like that wasn't in Cassandra's nature. She wouldn't have been able to resist making biting comments about how unfair it was that Wilhelmina was here.

Lindsey came in, and led all the Selected down to the entrance to the large ballroom. They had been to the small ballroom two weeks before to meet Eli, but the large ballroom was new, and it was much grander. While the entrance to the ballroom was on the first floor, the floor of the large ballroom was set down in the basement, so to get down, guests had to descend a grand staircase. Large grand crystal chandeliers were hung from the ceiling, illuminating the floor below. At the same level as the first floor, a balcony hugged the walls, providing any party-goers who wanted to be away from the chaos of the floor a quieter place to retreat to.

Lindsey arranged all the Selected in order by province, and gestured to the men at the doors to begin. They opened the doors, and Lindsey gestured for Cassandra to step through. She didn't have to be told twice, and entered the ballroom through the grand double doors, head held high.

A man in a well-tailored black suit waited at the top of the stairs, ready to introduce anyone who entered. As soon as Cassandra stepped through the doors, he announced, in a loud voice, "Announcing the Selected Lady Cassandra White, from Allens."

She smiled widely, and began her graceful walk down the stairs to the floor of the ballroom. Nothing could dampen her good mood tonight. She was going to show the world just what she was worth.

Then she caught sight of her father, standing near the drinks table and shaking his head slightly at her. It was a warning, that she would do well to avoid alcohol, as she had been for the past year. The reminder of just how imperfect she was was enough to crush her good mood somewhat, but she kept her smile on and her head held high. She knew that she had what it took, and it was time to show everyone else that.

* * *

**AN: Thank you all for reading!**

**Next week: THE BALL**


	15. Chapter 15

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, July 20th, 4:43pm_

_Elijah_

Classical music played, coming out of the speakers of Eli's phone. He set it on his desk, and moved to stand in the center of the room. "Can you dance?"

Micah shook his head. "Nope. Why do I need to dance?"

"Because there's thirty girls and one of me. Sure, there will be other guests, but I need you to do your part. Come here and dance with me. It's time you learned." He held out a hand. "Can I have this dance?" He asked, having a very hard time keeping a straight face.

Micah rolled his eyes and stood up, joining Eli in the center of the room. "You're ridiculous."

"Yup. Alright, I'll be the girl, left hand on my waist please, hold my right, my left hand goes on your shoulder. Got it?"

"Like this?" Micah placed his hands.

"Yup, that's right." Eli couldn't keep from laughing. "God, this is so weird."

"Tell me about it." Micah laughed too. "Tell me what to do."

"Ummm, left foot forward, right foot to the side, left foot to right foot, back with right foot, side with left foot, right foot to left foot. I do the same thing but backwards."

"Repeat that again, but slower?"

Eli nodded, and started over. There was a lot of swearing and laughing involved as Micah stepped on Eli's feet four times the first time they ran through it, but after a few tries, Micah sort of got the hang of it. "Are we done?" He asked. "I think I've got it."

Eli shook his head. "Nope. You need to learn to make it look pretty, and to travel, because right now we're just dancing in place, and you'll need to move around the floor at the ball."

"Oh, Jesus." Micah sighed loudly, and returned to their previous position. "This is hard."

"And now you know the hell you were exempt from when we were kids." Eli laughed and started counting again, hoping that Micah would get the hang of it well enough to dance with the girls, who wouldn't be very good dancers either.

Eventually, he decided that that Micah was probably good enough, and let him stop. He went to turn off the music, while Micah flopped back on the bed. "This is bad enough sober, how am I supposed to do this after a couple of drinks?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "I've got a simple solution for you. Don't drink."

"What kind of fun are you?"

"The least fun." Eli sat down on the edge of the bed. "I thought you already knew that," he said jokingly.

"You're going to drink, you hypocrite."

"I also learned how to dance when I was eleven, not literally just this afternoon."

"I can dance just fine."

"Anything you would do in a mosh pit doesn't count."

"You mean I can't talk the Selected into starting a wall of death in the middle of the ballroom?"

Eli laughed, flopping back on the bed next to Micah. "No. But if you did it would make my day. Although I think Dad might have a heart attack."

"That would be the point," Micah said, grinning widely. "Alright. It's a plan then." He laughed. "Just kidding. I'll only be highly tempted."

"Behave yourself, please." It might be a lost cause, but Eli still felt like it was worth saying.

"Don't worry. I'm not out to make trouble for you."

That was new. But Eli knew that he meant it. "Thanks."

"Anytime." Micah paused for a moment, and opened his mouth as if to speak, but thought better of it and closed it again. He sat up suddenly, and said, "So, what about dinner? What do you want?"

Eli suddenly got the feeling that something wasn't right, that there was something Micah was keeping from him, but he didn't ask. He'd worry about that later. "I don't know. I'm not hungry."

Eli spent the hours remaining before the ball reading reports and letting Micah force him into eating at least a little bit, until it was time to get ready. Jay came by Eli's room then, looking rather out of place in a suit, and Eli loaned him a tie and a pair of cuff links, after making him promise not to lose them.

At eight o'clock, an hour after the Selected had headed downstairs, the three of them went down to the ballroom. The servants stationed by the doors to the ballroom opened them wide, and the three of them entered. The announcer at the top of the stairs spoke as they stepped inside. "Announcing His Royal Highness Crown Prince Elijah of Illéa."

Eli started his descent down the stairs, listening as Micah and Jay were announced behind him. Dad and Melissa were already present, and Eli could see them already seated on the dais against the back wall. Jenn would be in in a few minutes, and Charles would be after her. It was already past Mel's bedtime, so she wouldn't be in attendance.

Eli lifted a drink off of a passing servants tray, and took a sip, surveying the room, trying to work out where to start. There was a group of musicians set up in one corner of the room, playing music perfect for dancing, and the room was full of the low buzz of conversation.

He spotted Calista across the room, chatting with Isla. That seemed like a good place to start. He made his way over to them. "Lady Calista, Lady Isla," he greeted them. "How has your evening been so far?"

"It's been good," Isla said. "What about yours?"

"I haven't even been here five minutes, so I think it's a bit too early to say. What about you, Lady Calista?"

"It's just Cali, please, Your Highness," she said quietly.

"Just Cali, then." He grinned at her. "Will you dance with me, just Cali?" He asked her, knowing Isla wouldn't be jealous.

She laughed and nodded, smiling, and said, "Of course." He set his drink aside and offered her his arm, which she accepted, and he led her out onto the dance floor.

As they began to dance, he asked, "So, just Cali, have you been enjoying the ball so far?"

"It's like something out of some crazy fairytale." She glanced around at the splendor of the ballroom, not missing a step of the dance in the process. "There's even a prince," she said jokingly.

"I suppose there is." He gave her a slightly fake smile. He was no fairytale prince, and his life only seemed to belong in fairytale from the outside.

Fairytales had happy endings. He didn't expect that he was going to get one.

"You don't have to fake it," she said softly.

"What? What do you mean?" Had she somehow seen through his forced smile?

"You don't have to smile for my sake. It's okay to not be happy."

He shook his head. "I am happy."

"When you're ready to talk about it, you can find me, alright?" She didn't say anything else for the rest of their dance.

When the song ended, Eli led her off the floor. "Thank you for the dance, just Cali."

She nodded. "You're welcome." Addie appeared out of the crowd and reached for her hand, pulling her away. Eli grabbed another drink and headed across the room to join Micah in talking to another group of girls.

Jade and Brielle were standing together, drinks in hand, chatting with Micah. Eli took a sip of his drink as he approached, and said, "Hello, Lady Jade, Elle. How have you been enjoying your evening so far?"

"Well, I'm a little bit sad that nobody's asked me to dance yet," Brielle said, clearly hinting that she wanted Eli to ask her.

Eli knew better, though. He had already been on a date with her, playing favorites this early was a terrible idea. He rested a hand on Micah's shoulder. "How about you ask Lady Brielle to dance, then?" He leaned in to whisper in Micah's ear. "She's been in musicals, she's a good dancer."

Micah shot Eli a dirty look, but did as requested. He turned to Brielle and asked, "Can I have this dance, Lady Brielle?"

"Of course," she said politely, accepting his hand and letting him lead her out onto the floor.

Eli turned to Jade. She was wearing a black ballgown with cutouts exposing her shoulders. "While Lady Brielle is occupied, would you like to dance?" He held out his hand towards her, setting his drink aside.

She eagerly accepted it and let him lead her out onto the floor. Eli briefly wondered if he was ever going to get to finish a drink, but he supposed it was really his own fault. He didn't _have_ to ask Jade to dance if he didn't want to.

They danced together, then she left to find Isla, and Eli headed across the room to find someone else to talk to. He spotted Flo, in a one-shouldered dress with the top section covered in a floral design, and decided that he didn't particularly want to talk to her tonight. It might be a good idea to keep her for a bit, thanks to her father's position, but that didn't mean he had to talk to her.

His eyes fell on Liath, who was standing near the back wall, a drink in hand, wearing a dress similar to the one she had been wearing when they first met, but in a mermaid style, and a deep blue color with a gold floral pattern, grey hair pulled back in a neat bun.

Yeah, that was a good place to start. He desperately wanted to talk to her some more. He crossed the room towards her, joining her against the back wall. "Hello, Lady Liath."

She nodded towards him as he approached. "Hello." She took a sip of her drink, giving Eli a good view of the tattoo on her right wrist. It was made up of a series of lines, circling around her wrist.

"I like your tattoo. The one on your wrist." He gestured towards it. "Does it mean anything in particular, or…" He trailed off, hoping he hadn't accidentally asked the wrong question. He did too much of that sometimes.

"It's my team's motto." She switched her drink to her other hand so she could tilt her wrist to show him the whole tattoo. "It means ad astra quoquo modo, which is Latin for to the stars, through any means."

"Cool. I like that a lot." He smiled at her, a slightly more genuine smile than the smiles he had given some of the other girls. "Do you want to dance?" He held out a hand. It was totally an excuse to be physically close to her, but that was probably alright. After all, it was a ball, the whole point was to dance.

"Of course," she said, accepting his hand. He led her out onto the dance floor.

They didn't talk much while they danced, but she seemed to enjoy herself. When the song ended, Eli said goodbye, and wove his way through the crowd, looking for someone else to talk to.

He spotted a number of girls together near a table of refreshments, and made his way over. Lennox, who was wearing a tight-fitting strapless black dress, was chatting with Elaine, who was wearing a white and grey off-the-shoulder dress with what looked to be a floral pattern on it. Marlee and Thea were together, debating what kind of drinks to grab for the rest of their group. Marlee was wearing a black ball gown with the top section split down the middle. Thea was wearing an off-the-shoulder dress made of sheer black material covered with a silver star pattern, with white material beneath it to make the dress modest enough.

He approached Marlee and Thea first, since he had gotten along well enough with both of them. "Hello Lady Marlee, Lady Thea. I personally think that Thea is right about which drinks you should take back, but that's just me."

Thea smiled at Marlee, clearly tipsy already. Eli remembered that she was only twenty, and wondered if this was her first time drinking. "See? I told you those are better." Or maybe not. If she had strong opinions about what kind of alcohol was better, she probably had at least some experience.

Marlee rolled her eyes. "I suppose I'm outvoted then." She laughed, and grabbed two drinks off the table. "Let's go and find Addie and Lydie then." She waved to Eli as she headed off into the crowd.

Thea grabbed two drinks herself, and followed, leaving Eli to talk to Elaine and Lennox. His first meeting with both of them had been slightly awkward, so he supposed he had some work to do to have a non-awkward conversation with both of them. He grabbed a drink off the table, and took a sip before approaching them. "Hello Lady Lennox, Lady Elaine."

They both turned from their conversation to look at him, and Elaine said, "Hello, Your Highness. It's just Lainey, please."

"Then you'll have to call me Eli. Forget the titles, please." He smiled at her, fake as usual.

"Alright," she agreed, taking a sip of her drink.

"How have you two been enjoying the ball?"

Lennox answered first. "It's something alright. I've never seen anything like it." He remembered that she had been a waitress from a small town. Even the most normal parts of his life would be kind of insane to her. That was something to keep in mind later down the line. It might be easier to marry someone who would have an easier time fitting in and adapting to the lifestyle of the royal family.

Lainey nodded. "It's wonderful. I've been having a good time dancing. I haven't gotten a chance to do much dancing since I arrived at the palace."

Eli made a mental note to tell Lindsey to open up an empty room for Lainey and Lena to practice in if they wanted to, and said, "Have you been doing any dancing, Lady Lennox?"

She shook her head. "I don't think my dancing skills are quite up to snuff."

"Oh, that's too bad, I was going to ask you."

Lennox shook her head. "I think I'd probably step on your feet."

"I spent this afternoon teaching Micah to dance, it's probably wise of you to give my poor toes a break." He laughed.

Lainey and Lennox laughed as well, and Lainey said, "You did a good job, though. I danced with him earlier and I wouldn't have known that he just learned this afternoon."

Eli turned back to Lennox. "See? I'm a great teacher according to Lainey, if you dance with me you're sure to improve."

She shook her head. "No thanks. I was going to find Addie anyway."

"Alright. Lady Marlee and Lady Thea were going to take her a drink, I think they headed that way." Eli gestured in the direction Marlee and Thea had headed.

Lennox nodded. "Thanks." She headed in the direction Eli had indicated.

Eli turned back to Lainey. "Would you like to dance with me? Or have you had enough of dancing already?"

"I would love to," she said, setting her drink aside. Eli did the same, and offered her his arm to lead her out onto the floor. She really was a good dancer, Eli noticed. Liath had been good enough, and so had Jade and Cali, but Lainey was much better than any of them had been, thanks to having had actual training in dance previously.

When the song ended, they parted ways, and Eli headed through the crowd, looking for another Selected to talk to. He was stopped multiple times by random guests as he attempted to cross the room, and it was a while before he managed to catch one of the Selected.

Nefertiti was near the back of the room, chatting with Jay. Eli approached the two of them, and said to Jay, "Mind if I borrow Lady Nefertiti for a minute?"

"Of course not." Jay stepped away, heading for Yunuen, who was wearing a red dress with a deep and very revealing v-neckline, and Eli turned to Nefertiti. She was wearing a tight-fitting sparkly off-the-shoulder dress with a low neckline. Her sleeves started at the same point as the neckline of her dress, and went down to her elbows, where they ended in long, billowy sheer fabric that hung down. There was a slit up one side of her skirt, ending well above her knee. She wore plain silver heels held on her feet by thin straps, and a delicate silver necklace.

"How have you been enjoying your evening so fair, Lady Nefertiti?"

"It's been wonderful." She adjusted her long brown hair, which had been left flowing loose. "How has yours been?"

He was surprised that she had asked, just like he had been when they had first met. But really, he shouldn't have been. "It's been fine. I would be having a better time if I actually got a chance to finish a drink, though."

A flash of… something… crossed her face, but Eli couldn't tell what it was that she was thinking. "We can fix that." She grabbed two drinks off of a nearby servant's tray, and handed one to Eli. "Here you go."

He took a sip, watching her as she drank from her own glass. She was really very pretty. He hadn't really noticed when they had first met, he hadn't focused very much on what the girls all looked like. But now, her looks had caught his attention.

"So, this is your scene then?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you go to parties like this often?"

He shook his head, taking another sip of his drink. "My birthday was the last one, and before that it was Jenn's birthday. Which is in April. So not really, no." He looked around the ballroom. "This isn't really much of a party. Usually there would be an after party, but my friend who usually organizes that is in France with his girlfriend right now."

She raised her eyebrows. "So what is your scene then?"

That was a difficult question. He could describe a party, and keep up his reputation, or tell her he did nothing but work these days really. He couldn't help but remember even farther back, to the hours spent in Isabelle's apartment. But that was long gone now.

He shrugged. "I don't really know. A lot has changed lately." He left it at that. She didn't need to know that 'lately' really meant 'a year ago'. He finished his drink, and set the empty glass down on a nearby table. "Thank you for the excuse to stay in one place and finish a drink. I'd better be moving on, though."

She nodded. "Of course. Enjoy the rest of your night."

"You too," he said as he headed off into the crowd. He had spotted Cassandra's distinctive red hair from across the room, and decided that it was probably a good idea to go and spend some time with her. Cassandra wore a sparkly dark red v-neck dress, and had her hair up in an elaborate braided bun.

"Hello Lady Cassandra," he said as he approached. "May I have this dance?" He offered her his arm to lead her out onto the floor if she accepted.

She nodded, and said, "Of course," as she accepted his arm.

Cassandra was a good dancer too, even though as far as Eli knew she wasn't a dancer. He half wondered if she had been deliberately groomed for her role ahead of time. It wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility for his father to have planned something like that, after all.

After his dance with Cassandra, Eli looked around for Yunuen, but saw her on Jay's arm, headed for the dance floor for the next song. She was busy then, he'd have to see if he could catch her later. He looked for her sister, but didn't spot her, so he headed over to talk to Zenya. He had seen her several times throughout the night, but she had been with Addie, Lydie, and Thea on those occasions, so he hadn't gone up to talk to her. Now that she was on her own, he did.

If he had to make a list of his favorites right at that moment, Zenya would be on it somewhere. They had texted a little bit on and off over the week, and it had always been a pleasant distraction from what was going on in his day.

He fished his phone out of his pocket as he approached. She looked up and waved at him as he came closer, so he knew he had her attention. "Hello, Lady Zenya. Do you have your phone with you?" He tapped on the screen of his own phone, so she would get the idea.

She shook her head, accidentally dislodging a strand of her hair from the bun it was in. "No pockets in this dress." Zenya was wearing a pink halter neck dress, which was plainer than some of the things the other girls had picked.

He laughed, and slid his phone back into his pocket as she fixed the loose strand of hair. "Of course not. You look nice, though, even if it is impractical." She didn't say anything in reply, so he assumed she hadn't understood him. "Will you dance with me?" He gestured towards the dance floor to help her figure out what he was saying. "We can just dance, we don't have to talk."

She smiled widely at him. "I would love to."

He smiled back, a genuine smile this time, and offered her his arm.

After they had danced and parted ways, Eli slipped off to a corner of the ballroom to send her a text. She wouldn't see it until later, but that was alright.

Elijah: I tried to tell you earlier, but I don't think you understood. You looked really nice tonight :)

He put his phone back in his pocket, and went back to looking for Ixchel. Eventually he found her, wearing a sparkly one-shouldered rose gold dress that shone under the light cast from the chandeliers of the ballroom.

"Hello, Lady Ixchel," he said as he approached.

She gave him an appraising look as he approached, but after a few moments her face changed to a smile, as if she was pleased with what she saw. "Hello, Your Highness."

"It's just Eli, please."

She raised her eyebrows, but didn't comment on his request. "Have you been enjoying yourself?"

"Sure." He wondered just how much all the Selected had bought into the party boy image. Suddenly Nefertiti's questions made a lot more sense. She was trying to figure out just how right the media was about him. And he hadn't done himself any favors by saying that his night would be better if he got a chance to finish a drink. Well, if he wanted to keep up the act for the Selected, he had done himself plenty of favors. He wasn't sure yet just how honest he wanted to be with them. "What about you?"

"I have. I talked to your sister for a little bit. I think we'll get along very well. I'm impressed that she's studying even though she doesn't have to."

"Yeah, Jenn is impressive like that," he agreed, tucking a strand of hair back behind his ear. He wished, not for the first time, that Jenn had been the first-born. But if he was honest with himself, he wouldn't want to do that to her. Better for him to take the shit, better for him to be the one with the fake relationship. At least he wouldn't have to marry a guy, like she would. He was sure she felt about the same way about the idea of marrying a guy as he did.

Ixchel interrupted his thoughts. "Have you seen Lydie anywhere lately? I've been looking for her all night."

He shook his head. "No, not lately. I haven't spoken to her yet, I probably should."

She nodded. "Of course. I'll see you around then?"

He nodded as well, and headed off to find Lydie. On his way over, he spotted Wilhelmina chatting with Melissa. He didn't want to talk to Wilhelmina, but he couldn't avoid her forever just because it was awkward. So he approached them. "Do you mind if I steal Willa for a minute?" He asked Melissa. He was still kind of annoyed at her for talking to Lainey before he did, but he didn't let it show on his face. Jenn was always reminding him that he needed to be the better person, and that he wasn't doing anything to fix the mess that was their family acting like a child, and she was probably right. Although in Eli's opinion his relationship with anyone other than her, Mom, and Mel was beyond salvaging, so he might as well just torpedo them and have a good time doing it.

That was another reason Jenn should have been the oldest. She was the only one who was actually trying to bring everyone together again. She was crazy for trying, but still, it was admirable.

Melissa smiled at him. "Of course. I was just about to go and find your father anyway." She stepped away, leaving him with Wilhelmina. He felt a flash of annoyance as she left. Melissa always _thought_ she was trying to make things better, but she just pissed him off when she tried to play nice.

Wilhelmina was wearing a dark green dress, with a cream portion dividing her skirt in half down the front. It was strapless, and had gold detailing across the top potion, and scattered across the green parts of the skirt. She turned to him, skirt swishing. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Just thought I should. I can't really avoid you forever."

"No, you can't," she agreed. "Thank you, by the way. For not eliminating me on the spot."

"Who says I still can't?" He joked, but then added seriously, "I won't, thought. I can promise you at least another month or two."

She nodded. "I appreciate it. A lot."

"No problem." He ran a hand through his hair. "Just so you know, I never hated you. You might have hated me, but I never hated you."

She folded her arms. "You and Micah embarrassed me in front of everyone, of course I hated you."

"Oh, this is about that?" He only vaguely remembered the incident in question, and certainly hadn't thought it was such a big deal. "It wasn't meant to go that far. And we did apologize."

"Your mother made you."

"We were just having fun, and it got out of hand. And you got your revenge, I remember that. So let's just put all this in the past, it was more than a decade ago, and we're all adults now."

"You were the one who brought it up again."

"You're the one who still won't talk to Micah."

She paused for a moment. "You're right," she conceded. "That wasn't fair. That was the past." She glanced around the room. "Where is he anyway?"

Eli shrugged. "No idea. I haven't seen him in a bit." He glanced around the room as well, but didn't spot him. "Anyway, I'd better get going. I was actually looking for someone."

She nodded. "Alright." She smiled at him. "And thank you again."

He left her, and wove his way through the crowd, and eventually spotted Lydie, standing partially concealed by a potted plant in one corner of the room. He went over to her, and stepped back behind the leaves so he was partially concealed as well. "Hiding, Lady Lydie?"

She was wearing a dress with a grey skirt and a black top section, with a deep v-neck. The skirt was covered in a pattern of black, grey, and copper flowers. She looked over at Eli as he entered her hiding spot, clearly startled to see him. "I mean…"

She began to say no, but Eli fixed her with a look that screamed are you sure about that, and she changed her answer. "Oh, alright, kind of."

"Who are you hiding from?"

She shrugged. "Just someone I didn't want to talk to."

"Okay." That was a little bit concerning, but he didn't want to pry… No, actually, fuck it, he wanted to know. If there was a problem, he wanted to fix it. "Who? One of the Selected?"

She hesitated again. "I… Yes."

"Who?" Eli asked again. He was really worried now. He didn't want the Selected to fight.

She paused for a moment, as if she was making a decision. "Flo," she eventually said. "She keeps talking about all these crazy conspiracy theories, and it's really annoying."

Eli suddenly wondered what he had missed when he had tuned Flo out when they first met. Eh, she was most likely harmless, he wouldn't worry about it. "Ah. Sounds annoying. I've actually been avoiding her myself."

Lydie raised her eyebrows. "So are you telling me her days are numbered?"

"Unfortunately not. She's a Two, after all."

"Oh, so that's how this works," she said, disgust obvious on her face.

"Yeah. It is," he admitted. "I don't really like it, but there are people in high places who would prefer to see me marry someone of status, and sometimes the fight just isn't worth it." He was careful not to throw his father under the bus with his words. Dad deserved it, but that didn't mean Eli could talk shit about him freely.

"So the Elite will be all Twos then."

Eli shook his head. "Just between you and me, I think that's highly unlikely. There are some fights that are worth fighting. But keeping Flo for a while longer is not one of them."

"So you're a self-centered doormat. Got it."

He paused for a moment, shocked. He hadn't expected that. "I try not to be."

"Sure. You _try_."

Eli glanced around the ballroom, making sure nobody was looking their way. "Let's take this out to the hallway, okay?"

"What? Why?"

"Around here there's always someone watching," he said grimly. "Come on." He stepped out from behind the potted plant, and headed out into the hallway, checking every so often to see if she was following. She did follow, and he led her to the entrance to a nearby secret passage. He pressed on the right spot in the paneling to open it, and gestured for her to step in first.

She shook her head, and waited for him to go first. Whatever. It didn't really matter. He stepped inside, and waited for her to join him. He quickly showed her how to open the door, and closed it, so they were standing together in the dark. He pulled out his phone and switched on the flashlight. "I'm sorry about this, but there's always eyes on me, and I want to clear up any issues you might have with me, without anyone listening. First of all, I am trying, but I am very much not in power here, you have to understand that. I might be the crown prince, but I will be ultimately powerless until my father dies. And you know what, I might have given up on some things, but I have a reason for that. Ever taken an economics class? Resources are finite, and you have to choose where to use them, and for every choice there are trade-offs. I fight for things that are more important than eliminating Flo as soon as I would like."

She shook her head. "They don't teach economics in public schools."

"See what I mean? Ultimately, whether I eliminate Flo next week or in two or three months doesn't actually matter. It won't change anything important, so it's not worth the fight."

"What about your happiness?"

"Didn't you just say I was self-centered?" He laughed, running a hand through his hair. He had been more honest with Lydie than he intended to be, but he felt better after talking.

She paused, before saying, "I think I might have been wrong."

Eli smiled at her, the second genuine smile at her. "Let's go back to the ball. I want you to dance with me."

"I'd love to." She reached up to hit the catch of the door, and stepped out, holding out a hand behind her for him. He accepted it, and they walked back to the ball together. Lydie was definitely going next to Zenya on the list, he decided. Both of them were somehow capable of making him actually smile.

After they danced, Eli decided that it was time for a bit of a break from the ball. He'd talk to the last few girls after he had a few minutes by himself. He headed for the stairs up to the balcony that surrounded the room. On his way up, he encountered Violet, who was wearing a bright orange dress with fabric butterflies attached to the straps. Good. Lindsey had taken him seriously when he had told her to let Violet have more of a say about her own wardrobe, within reason.

"Hello, Lady Violet."

She smiled at him. "Hello."

"I'd ask you how you've been enjoying the ball, but I'm afraid of what your answer might be," he joked, remembering their first meeting.

She laughed slightly. "I actually think this whole thing is kind of fun. Kind of wasteful, but really fun. I mean, who wouldn't love getting to dress up and feel like a princess for the evening?"

"It's overrated," he said. "Just ask either of my sisters. Mel desperately wants to be a superhero instead of a princess."

"I know. She came to the Women's Room last week, and Brielle asked if she wanted to sing songs about princesses. Mel said she was already a princess, so she didn't need to sing about it."

Eli laughed. "Sounds like her. She's a handful alright." He turned to continue up the stairs. "Have a good rest of the night, alright?"

Violet nodded, and continued down the stairs.

When Eli reached the top, he spotted Gemma standing at the railing, and headed over towards her. That was excellent timing. She was one of the last people on his list to talk to tonight.

He walked over to join her at the railing. "Hello, Lady Gemma. You look nice tonight." She really did. She was wearing a short-sleeved dress covered in flower details. It was white at the top, but partway down, the skirt changed to a soft blue color, and her brown hair was down, framing her face.

Gemma smiled as he approached. "Thank you. You don't look bad yourself."

He self-consciously tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Thanks." He didn't think he was particularly attractive, but he supposed that he really wasn't his own type, being a straight man and all. "Have you been enjoying yourself?"

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I have. How about you?"

He thought back over his evening. "Yeah, I've had a good time." Eli rested his hands on the railing of the balcony. He really kind of had had a good time. He wasn't the world's biggest fan of balls, but seeing all the Selected had been pretty fun. It hadn't felt as much like work as the first meetings had. Maybe that was because he had had a couple of drinks over the course of the night. Maybe the first meetings would have been easier if he had had a drink first. Probably. "Have you had a good past two weeks? I know we haven't seen each other much, but I want to change that."

She nodded. "The other girls have actually been really cool, I've enjoyed getting to spend some time with them. There's a lot of really different people here, and it's been cool to meet them all." Gemma paused, then said, "Are you asking me out?"

"I'm glad. I've been worried about fights." He shrugged at her question. "If you want me to be, I am."

"I haven't seen anyone actually _fighting_. There's a few people who don't like each other very much, and Yunuen and Ixchel, the twins, they legitimately hate each other I'm pretty sure, but there haven't been any arguments or anything." She paused before saying, "I want you to be asking me out, I think."

"That's good, I'm glad." He turned to give her genuine smile number three. "It's a date then. Tomorrow morning, we'll do breakfast at ten."

She raised her eyebrows. "Tomorrow? Won't you be hungover?"

He shook his head. "I had maybe two drinks, I'll be fine." The party boy reputation biting him in the ass again, damn it. Did everyone think he was constantly getting drunk? Had he really done that good of a job keeping his reputation up?

"Really?" She paused for a moment, as if she was realizing she sounded a little bit _too _surprised, and Eli might be offended. "I didn't mean it like that." She paused again. "If I was in your shoes I'd need more than a couple of drinks to get through a party like this. On your side of things it sounds more stressful than fun."

"Really. Don't believe everything you hear in the media, they like to blow things out of proportion." And the royal family was a bunch of liars. "I actually had a good time. Now, the first time I met you all, I could have used a couple of drinks first." He laughed. "But I didn't, because I didn't need to do anything stupid."

She laughed. "Like plan a date for the morning after a party?"

"Nah, I'm not going to regret that."

Gemma nodded. "Whatever you say," she said jokingly, gazing back out over the ballroom. Apparently she spotted something, because she said, "I'm going to go help Thea fix her hair. I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, stepping away from the balcony railing.

Eli nodded too. "Yup. See you." She left the balcony, and Lena came up the stairs to take her place at Eli's side. She was wearing a sparkly silver dress with a low neckline and long sleeves made of sheer material with sparkly silver detailing similar to the color of the dress.

She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't you think it's time to be getting out of here? Going somewhere? Your room maybe?" She gave him a seductive smile.

For a moment, he was tempted to take her up on it. She was his type, that was for sure. And it had been so long since he had had sex. But he didn't necessarily want to pick her in the end, and if he took her up on it, she would expect to be the one receiving the ring. And if she didn't, she would have plenty of ammunition to mess things up. So the wise choice was to say no. There were other girls, who he found much more interesting as people, and to sleep with someone so early in the game might alienate a lot of them if word got out. So he turned to Lena and said, "I think it's time for you to be going back to your room. Alone. A little bit too much to drink, maybe?" He offered her an easy excuse for her behavior, if she wanted to take it.

She looked disappointed, but walked away anyway, headed for the stairs down from the balcony, back to the ball below.

Eli decided that he needed even more distance from the ball. There was still an hour left, he could come back and catch Addie and Yunuen after a little bit of a break. He headed out a side door from the balcony, into a hallway on the first floor.

He was met with the sound of someone retching. It didn't take him long to find Marlee, down a side corridor, head over a potted plant. He instantly felt kind of bad for her, even though it was most likely her own fault.

She finished puking, and straightened up, wiping at her eyes and smudging her already smudged makeup even more. She caught sight of Eli, standing at the end of the corridor, and immediately buried her face in her hands, as if she was trying to hide the mess she was.

"Want a hair tie?" Eli asked, making sure he didn't sound judgemental. He had no right to judge.

She nodded miserably, and Eli fished one out of his pocket and walked closer to hand it to her. "You just carry hair ties?" She asked as she fumbled with her hair, trying to get it put up.

"I have long hair too," he said, watching her fumble. "Mind if I fix that for you?" He asked after her attempt at a bun fell apart again.

Marlee shook her head, and he moved a little closer and crouched down next to her, quickly pulling her hair back into a mostly neat ponytail. "There. Is that better?" He straightened up.

She nodded, and stood up, kicking off her heels and leaning against the wall next to her for balance.

Eli searched around in his pockets again, and pulled out a box of breath mints. He shook the box slightly in her direction, and asked, "Want one?"

"I will never not be freaked out by the amount of stuff guys can carry in their pockets," she said, holding out a hand to accept a mint.

Eli gave her one, and put the box back in his pocket, shrugging. "I guess I do have a lot of stuff in my pockets." He paused for a moment, then said, "Do you need help finding your room again?"

She hesitated, but eventually nodded. As they made their way back to her room, Eli let her lean on his shoulder for balance, and carried her heels for her with one hand. He delivered her into the care of her maids, and headed back towards the ballroom.

Once he arrived at the ballroom again, he found that the musicians were playing their last song, and both Yunuen and Addie were gone. Disappointed, he headed out again, intending to go to bed, but almost immediately spotted Addie in the corridor. She was wearing a blue v-neck dress with blue flowers around the base of the skirt, and was holding her heels in one hand, walking barefoot down the hall.

Eli hurried to catch up with her. "I was looking for you," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you earlier tonight."

She smiled as he caught up with her and matched his pace with hers. "It's alright. We'll have other chances to dance."

Eli was about to promise that they would indeed have another chance to dance sometime soon, but he remembered that he had some music on his phone from teaching Micah to dance that afternoon. "How about right now?"

"The musicians are leaving, though."

"No, I have music on my phone. Don't ask why." He held out a hand. "Can I have this dance, Lady Addie?"

Her smile widened. "Of course." She accepted his hand, and let him pull her into a side room. He didn't bother with the lights, the light spilling in from the hallway was plenty. He set his phone on a side table, and hit play on the music before getting into position in the center of the room with Addie. Fortunately he had picked a room without any furniture or carpeting in the middle of it.

They began to dance. Addie was a decent dancer, although it was fairly obvious she had only learned a week ago. When the music stopped, neither of them was in any hurry to move. She was staring at him with her dark brown eyes, smiling happily, still holding onto one of his hands, one hand on his shoulder. She was taller than him, he noticed, even without the heels, which she hadn't bothered to put back on, and had left on the floor by the entrance to the room.

It suddenly occurred to Eli that she most likely wanted him to kiss her.

He wasn't sure he wanted to do that. Actually, he really didn't want to do that. The last person he had kissed was Isabelle. He wasn't ready to kiss someone new yet. It would be different. It wouldn't be right. Even though she was dead and didn't give a damn what he was doing now, the very idea of kissing Addie felt like a betrayal to her memory. Thinking about it intellectually, the idea of kissing any of the Selected hadn't felt like a big deal, but now that the moment where it might make sense to do such a thing was here, he found it was actually a big fucking deal.

Fortunately, he was spared from having to either suck it up and kiss her or tell Addie no by Jay's appearance in the doorway. "Eli? Can you come here for a minute?"

Eli pulled away from Addie, mumbling, "Sorry. I should find out what he wants."

She let him go, and he joined Jay in the doorway. "What's up?" He asked.

Jay took a deep breath and let it out, before saying, "I… found Micah." By the look in Jay's eyes, Eli immediately knew exactly what that meant.

"Shit."

* * *

**AN: I'm sorry this chapter was a little longer than the usual chapter, it got out of hand fast. Also, I apologize for the cliffhanger. And I apologize in advance for what I did. **


	16. Chapter 16

**TW: Spoilery, scroll down to the bottom**

_The Large Ballroom, The Palace, July 20th, 10:30pm_

_Yunuen Hamilton, 3, Tammins_

Yunuen stood in one corner of the ballroom, watching Eli dance with everyone but her. She knew the night was still far from over, and he seemed to be making an effort to talk to all the Selected, but still it stung that she seemed to be the very last priority. She had hardly gotten a chance to dance at all. Micah had asked her once, but only after he had danced with her sister, and she had turned him down, upset to be coming after Ixchel, as usual.

She didn't even really have any friends. She had attempted to befriend Wilhelmina, Lena, Jade, and Brielle, but Wilhelmina and Brielle hadn't seemed terribly interested, Jade had quickly fallen in with Isla, and Lena saw her as competition more than anything else, even though they spent time together in the Women's Room. Ixchel was at least friendly with most of the Selected.

A man she immediately recognized as Jay, the one she had met when she had gotten lost before, approached her. He looked different, with the sleeves of his suit covering up his tattoos and his hair combed, almost like he really did belong in the palace. And if he had managed to secure an invitation to an event like this, he clearly did belong at the palace. "What's up, Yunuen?"

Okay, maybe he didn't belong after all. Even Micah hadn't greeted her by saying 'what's up'. She made a disapproving face, making it clear that she expected a more refined greeting than that in the future, and said, "A chandelier. The ceiling. The second floor. Maybe a bird."

He laughed, taking a sip of his drink. "I knew you had a sense of humor. Do you want to dance next song?"

She shrugged delicately, making a show of adjusting her hair, even though it was already near perfect. "If someone asks me, I might agree to dance."

"Oh, so you're a stickler for protocol then. Good to know." He downed the rest of his drink, and set the empty glass on a side table. "Lady Yunuen, will you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

"Of course," she said politely. As the song faded out, she let him lead her out onto the floor. He was a good dancer, she noticed. He really did belong here, she decided. Maybe he just didn't like protocol.

After the song ended and they had left the dance floor, Jay turned to her, and asked, "Do you want a drink?"

She nodded. Attention was attention, and if Jay was the only person willing to give it to her, she would take it. He could be a good prospect for after the Selection, if Eli eliminated her. There was nothing she liked more than catching the attention of a rich Two, which any friend of Eli's surely had to be.

They spent the rest of the evening together, drinking and dancing, and as the ball began winding down, Jay said, "Can I walk you back to your room, Lady Yunuen?" He offered her his arm to escort her out of the ballroom.

She smiled. She loved to be treated like she was something special. "Of course." She accepted his arm, and let him lead her up the stairs and into the hall. They headed out of the main hall into a side hall, the one the Selected had used to come down from their rooms. Yunuen knew it was the fastest way to get back, and she still didn't completely trust Jay's navigation abilities. Especially since she was pretty sure he had had more to drink than she had.

Partway through their walk back, they approached a sitting room where the lights were on. Jay released her arm for a moment. "Hang on a second, I'm going to turn off the lights if there isn't anyone in there."

She wondered why it mattered. This was the palace, surely the lights in some unused sitting room could stay on for a few hours and it wouldn't matter. Surely the palace could afford that. But she let him go anyway.

Jay stuck his head in the room, and she heard him say a string of words that were definitely one hundred percent not meant to be uttered in civilized company. He turned back to Yunuen, some strong emotion written all over his face. "Yunuen, I'm going to need you to walk yourself the rest of the way. I found something, and it needs to be dealt with. Okay?"

She nodded, disappointed and annoyed. Even the one person who had seemed to want to spend time with her had more important things to do. Of course. Yunuen was never the first priority for anyone, and it was stupid to think that could ever change.

* * *

_The Large Ballroom, The Palace, July 20st, 11:55pm_

_Adelynn Sailor, 6, Clermont_

The ball was almost over. Lydie had left an hour ago, after she had danced with the prince, and Thea and Gemma had left twenty minutes ago. Marlee had vanished somewhere, and Addie didn't know where she had gone.

Addie glanced around the ballroom. She was starting to think that she might be the last Selected present. No, Lena was still there, dancing with a government official. Addie had stuck around, hoping she'd get a chance to dance with Eli, but he seemed to have left as well. There probably wasn't a whole lot of point in sticking around then. She was kind of disappointed about it, but there were a lot of Selected to talk to, she understood that there might not be enough time to speak with everyone. It was just kind of sad. The ball had felt like a fairytale. All it really needed was a prince. And there was no prince for Addie tonight. Oh well. Hopefully she'd still have another chance. When they had met, he had said that they'd have to go to the beach together sometime, and she didn't think she would be eliminated before he had a chance to keep his word.

But she highly doubted he'd be back to the ballroom tonight, so she might as well go ahead and leave. She headed for the grand staircase she had descended when she had entered the ballroom. It had been insane to walk down a staircase like that, and hear her name be announced as she descended. It belonged in a story, like the ones her mother had read her as a child. It was insane for someone like her to be living in that kind of story.

Once she was in the hall, away from the ballroom, she kicked her heels off, and scooped them up, carrying them in one hand. She had been wearing them for more than five hours now, her feet were starting to get kind of sore.

She heard footsteps behind her, but continued, assuming it was just Lena heading to bed as well. Lena was nice enough, so Addie slowed down a little so she'd have an easier time catching up if she wanted to.

"I was looking for you. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you earlier tonight."

She smiled as he caught up with her and matched his pace with hers. She didn't mind that he hadn't had the chance, but it was nice that he had been looking for her. It was kind of sweet, actually. "It's alright. We'll have other chances to dance."

"How about right now?" He asked.

"The musicians are leaving, though." She hoped he wouldn't make them unpack everything and stay late just for her. The musicians deserved to get to go home at the end of the evening.

"No, I have music on my phone. Don't ask why." He held out a hand. "Can I have this dance, Lady Addie?"

Her smile widened. "Of course." She accepted his hand, and let him pull her into a side room. The light from the hallway illuminated the room just enough to lend it a romantic quality, and she was glad that Eli didn't turn the lights in the room on. He set his phone down on a side table, and music began to play, similar to the music that had been played in the ballroom all night. It wasn't quite the same, since it was coming from the speaker's on Eli's phone, rather than being played live, but that was alright. It was still romantic. Especially since this was just for her, just them together.

He stepped forward, reaching for one of her hands and placing a hand on her waist, and began to lead her through the steps of the dance. She felt as if she was floating on a cloud.

All too soon, the music stopped, but Eli didn't move back, and neither did Addie. This was the closest she had ever been to kissing a guy, even though she was twenty-two. She had never actively searched for the perfect guy, and she had never stumbled across him either.

Until now. Maybe the Selection was actually a fairytale. She had had her doubts going in, especially given that the winner of the last Selection had gotten divorced and the king had married his mistress, but maybe she really did have a chance at her fairytale romance here.

She looked into Eli's grey-blue eyes, and wondered if he wanted to kiss her. She hoped he did, although the idea made her kind of nervous. She wondered if she should say something, tell him that he would be her first kiss, but before he could, they were interrupted.

Jay appeared in the doorway of the room. "Eli? Can you come here for a minute?"

"Sorry. I should find out what he wants." Eli started to pull back, and Addie let him, releasing his hand, slightly disappointed. She kind of wanted to just quickly kiss him quickly, even though Jay was watching, but that wasn't how she wanted her first kiss ever to go, so she let Eli head for the door. "What's up?" She heard him ask Jay.

Jay said something she didn't catch in reply, and Eli swore. Something bad had obviously happened. Eli turned back to her, an unreadable look on his face. "Addie, you need to go."

Just a few moments ago, Addie had felt like she was flying, like this was her fairytale moment. And now it had all come crashing down. "What happened?" She asked, grabbing her shoes from where she had dropped them by the door.

Eli shook his head. "You don't have security clearance for this one, sorry. We'll talk later, okay?"

She nodded, a little bit confused, but left the room. "Okay."

As she walked away, she heard Jay ask, "Security clearance?"

"I can't fucking tell her, can I?" He continued speaking, but she couldn't hear what he said.

* * *

_Hallway, The Palace, July 21st, 12:15am_

_Elijah_

The first thing to do was get Addie out of the way so he and Jay could talk without spilling Micah's dirty secret. He had probably been meaner than he intended to be, out of stress and worry. What if he didn't get there in time? How had he missed the signs? What the fuck was that fucking idiot thinking? What would Eli do without him?

"Security clearance?" Jay asked.

"I can't fucking tell her, can I?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Do you want to ask stupid questions or do something fucking useful? Where the fuck even is he?"

Jay gave him directions to the room he had found Micah in, and Eli headed off down the hall towards it, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Jay was following him. "My room, bottom right dresser drawer, inside the brown dress socks. Go, and hurry." It briefly occurred to him that it was really fucked up that he still felt the need to hide things in his own bedroom at the age of twenty-five, but he didn't have time to think too hard about it.

Jay hurried off, and Eli hurried down the corridor, towards the room Jay had told him he would find Micah in. Micah was there, slumped on the floor, but clearly still breathing. Eli knelt down next to him, insanely relieved. "You idiot," he murmured fondly, and reached out to shake him gently. Micah didn't respond.

Eli sighed, and gently pulled the syringe out of Micah's arm, where the needle was still in the vein. Micah's arm bled a tiny bit when he removed it. He looked around for the orange plastic cap, and found it sitting on the floor nearby. He carefully slid it onto the end of the needle, and set it aside, before going to undo the belt that Micah had wrapped around his arm in order to see the veins better.

This wasn't the first time he had found Micah on the floor. And he hoped every time that it would be the last. But it never was. A nagging voice in the back of Eli's head always told him, when he found Micah like this, that nothing he could do would save him, that it would be better for Eli in the long run to give up on him, that he was just setting himself up for trouble. Eli always shut that voice up fast. Micah was more his brother than Charles was, and Eli would not abandon him.

That would be a first in Micah's life, he knew. Micah had been abandoned too many times already, by too many people.

And if Eli hadn't been so self-absorbed lately, so wrapped up in dealing with the Selected, he would have known Micah was slipping sooner, and he would have been able to deal with it before it got to this point. He resolved to do better, to keep a closer eye on him, to not ignore it if something seemed off with him.

Jay came back, holding the small box that had been concealed in Eli's sock drawer. He handed it to Eli without saying a word. Eli opened the box, and leaned over to administer the drug that would reverse the overdose.

It only took a few minutes for Micah to start waking up. As he opened his eyes, Eli said gently, "How are you feeling, you fucking stupid idiot?"

Micah blinked, wrapping his arms around himself. "Kind of really awful." He sniffed and rubbed at his nose. "Fuck, what happened?"

"Overdose," Eli said bluntly. "Thanks for that."

"I'm sorry," Micah mumbled, burying his face in his hands.

"I'd say it's okay, but it's really not." He stood up, holding out a hand to pull Micah up from the floor. "Come on. Let's get out of here." Eli kicked the capped syringe under the couch. It'd probably get some maid in trouble when this room was eventually cleaned, but he couldn't take the risk of trying to dispose of it himself.

Micah lifted his head up, and accepted Eli's hand, climbing to his feet. He was a little bit unsteady, and leaned on Eli's shoulder for balance. Shit, he was drunk too. His next twelve hours or so were going to be kind of rough.

Eli gestured for Jay to go ahead and leave. They could talk about this later. Eli's first priority was dealing with Micah.

They headed back to Eli's room, and Eli let Micah sit down on the end of the bed. Eli sat down in his desk chair, directly facing Micah. "Answer a couple of questions for me please." Through many years of practice, mostly in situations nothing like this, Eli managed to keep his voice calm, even though he was sort of pissed off, disappointed, and very worried.

Micah nodded, and muttered, "Ask away."

"Alright. Are you drunk right now?"

"Kinda."

"Okay. Was this the first time in a while?"

Micah nodded, refusing to meet Eli's eyes. "Yeah… I mean, the first time I've actually used in a while."

"And how long is a while? And what do you mean by actually used?"

"Seven months. The last time I used before tonight was seven months ago, before I went to rehab. And I mean I had pills last week but got rid of them instead of using them."

Last week? Holy shit, Eli hadn't been paying nearly as much attention to Micah as he should have been. How had he not known that Micah had nearly relapsed last week? What the hell? "Why didn't you tell me then? And do you have any more stashed somewhere that I should go clear out?"

"You're too stressed out as it is, you don't need to worry about me." Micah shook his head. "No. It was only supposed to be once."

"Micah. I clearly do need to be worrying about you, and we can do this the hard way or the easy way. The hard way you try to stop me at every step and keep secrets from me and cause yourself trouble and me extra worry, or take the easy way and tell me the truth so we can work together." Eli rolled his eyes. "And it would have been once, if Jay hadn't found you."

"You're one to talk about honesty and truth."

"We aren't talking about my problems here."

Micah laughed. "Maybe we should. You make the heroin addict look like a paragon of truth and virtue."

"Do you really want to do this right now, Micah? I don't want to do this right now."

"Fine. I'll do this the easy way. But can we leave it for a few hours? I don't feel good."

"And who's fault is that?" Eli shook his head. "Alright. But you're staying here tonight."

"I mean I was planning to crash here anyway."

"No, you're staying _here_. Like we used to do it when we were kids. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"I want to change, so you'd better let me out of your sight."

Eli laughed. "Don't worry, I don't want to see that either." He stood up, and headed for his closet. He found some clothes that were probably Micah's, left in his closet at one point during the last seven years, and tossed them in Micah's general direction. He hit him straight on in the head with a t-shirt, which hadn't been his intention, but he deserved it.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Trying to die on me like an idiot." Micah mumbled something about how he hadn't intended to almost die, but Eli ignored him. Eli found clothes for himself, and stepped out of the closet. "I'm going to change in the bathroom, be fast." He vanished into the bathroom, and came back a few minutes later. Micah had changed, and was laying back on the bed. Eli sat down next to him. "Think you'll get much sleep tonight?"

Micah shook his head, yawning. "Probably not."

"Alright." That meant Eli wasn't sleeping either. He laid down next to Micah, arms behind his head. "How are you feeling?"

Micah thought about it for a moment. "Could be worse, I guess. Sweaty. Cold. Cramps. I'm sure I'll be puking tomorrow, but that'll be because I'll be hungover, not because of this."

Eli nodded, and reached out to toss the blanket that was sitting on the bed over Micah. He began to talk, telling old stories, talking about things they used to do. Micah deserved to know that Eli wasn't going anywhere, no matter how many more times Eli had to do this shit. Micah had kept him company during the worst moments of his life, when he had been too depressed to get out of bed, and through all the stupid shit Eli had done. He owed Micah the same.

Micah didn't talk much, but that was okay. Eli couldn't really blame him for not really feeling like it. Around two or three, Micah cried for a bit, but Eli didn't say anything about it, just kept talking. There was nothing Eli could do but stick around.

Around five, Micah fell asleep, but Eli didn't dare. He got up to pace around the room, to make sure he didn't fall asleep by accident. He needed to be awake, to make sure Micah didn't do anything stupid.

Micah didn't sleep long. By seven o'clock, he was puking, as he had predicted earlier that morning. Eli brought him some water and left him alone.

Eli was starting to feel the effects of pulling an all nighter. He had the beginnings of a headache, so he took some aspirin and went to lay down in bed. Laying down was probably a bad idea, because it made it very hard not to fall asleep.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, surprising him. He had been on the verge of dozing off, so he was both grateful and annoyed with whoever was texting him. He fished his phone out of his pocket, and took a look at the screen.

Lindsey: Everything is ready for your date with Gemma this morning.

He groaned, loudly. He had forgotten about his date with Gemma. Asking her felt like it had been a week ago, rather than just a little more than eight hours.

He immediately started trying to think of ways to get out of it without telling her what was going on. He could tell her he was hungover, but she would know he was lying because he had told her the night before that he had only had two drinks. So that was out. He really couldn't cancel.

He sighed, and forced himself to get out of bed and head for the doorway to the bathroom. "I just remembered, I have a date this morning, and I can't think of any way to get out of it."

Micah glanced up at him from where he was sitting on the bathroom floor. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, I'll manage. Really, I'm sorry. I don't want to leave right now."

"You should be getting some sleep."

Eli shrugged. "We both know it would take me like three hours to fall asleep anyway."

"Way to make me feel guilty."

"Wasn't meant to be a guilt trip." Eli started to get ready for breakfast, and realized that Jay still had the pair of cufflinks he had loaned him. Damn, that was annoying. He'd have to ask Jay to give them back when he saw him.

Thinking about Jay, they needed to have a conversation, and Eli still had nearly an hour before Gemma was supposed to show up for breakfast. He sent Jay a text asking him to meet him in the hallway outside of the room he and Gemma were supposed to be having breakfast in, and after give Matthias directions to not let Micah out of that room, he headed out.

Jay was outside the room waiting for him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Eli held up a hand to silence him, with a firm glance at the guard down the hall. Jay got the message, and closed his mouth. Eli stepped into the room, and gestured for Jay to follow him. He spoke in a low voice, to ensure that it didn't carry out into the hallway. "Nothing I say now leaves this room, you understand?"

Jay nodded. "Yunuen was with me when I found him, is that going to be a problem?"

"What—?" Eli cut himself off rather than finish the question. "You know what, nevermind. What I don't know won't hurt me. Depends on what she saw and what you told her."

"She didn't see anything, and I didn't tell her anything other than there's a situation I need to deal with."

"Good. That'll be alright then."

"Is someone watching Micah right now?"

Eli nodded. "Yeah. Well, sort of. Matthias has instructions not to let him out of my room unless there's a fire or a direct attack on the palace or some shit like that."

Jay nodded, and paused for a moment, before asking, "What… I mean… I don't know… Where the hell did that shit come from? I mean… I knew he liked drugs probably a little bit too much, but I didn't know it was like _that_. I mean what the hell?"

"It's not my place to air Micah's dirty laundry. But I can tell you that this isn't the first time and it's not a new issue. And I will not have anyone telling me to just give up on him. I'm not going to give up on my brother." He was aware he was a bit of a hypocrite, since he had given up on Charles, but Charles had had chance after chance after chance to turn things around, and he had kept on believing Dad's lies. Micah had been given plenty of second chances too, but at least he was trying. Charles wasn't trying, by any definition of the word.

Jay nodded. "I understand." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "If you need someone else to take over date planning, I can. I can't promise I'll be any good at it, but I can give it a shot. And let's be honest, I have more dating experience than Micah."

Eli laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." He glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Gemma will be here in like ten minutes. So I guess you'd probably better go soon."

Jay nodded. "Yeah." He turned towards the door, but immediately stopped short, and Eli turned as well to see Gemma standing in the doorway.

Well, fuck.

"How much did you hear?" He asked immediately. Micah's secret had to be protected. If word reached his father's ears, punishment for him would be severe. Micah would be facing more than another trip to rehab, that was for sure.

"Basically all of it," she said, fiddling with one of her bracelets. "I'm sorry, I just didn't want to interrupt. And…" She sighed. "And I already knew. About Micah. That he…" She glanced at the guard down the hall, and stepped completely inside the room, moving so she was standing close enough to Eli and Jay that they would hear her when she spoke again, in a low voice. "That he's an addict. He told me."

"He told you?" Eli asked incredulously. "There are like five people I can think of that know."

Gemma fiddled with the bracelet again. "I promised him I wouldn't tell you, but since from the sound of things he has relapsed, I think you ought to know. I caught him. With pills. Last Monday. And I sat him down and made him talk about it a little. I told him if he needed to talk he could come to me."

Eli nodded, and said, "He overdosed. Last night." Since she already knew, and Micah might very well try to talk to her, there was no reason not to tell her.

"Why didn't you cancel breakfast then?"

"You said you heard most of what I said to Jay, right?" She nodded, and Eli continued. "Did you catch the part about this being a secret? About there being consequences if the wrong people find out about this?"

She nodded. "Reputation, right? Always got to preserve it?"

Eli nodded. "Like it or not." He glanced at the clock again. "Go, Jay, the photographer will be here any minute."

Jay left the room, and Gemma and Eli both took seats at the breakfast table. There wasn't any food on it yet, but that would be coming in just a few minutes. As soon as Eli had that thought, a servant came in with a pot of coffee. Eli had never been so grateful for coffee in his life. He felt like an exhausted zombie, and didn't have a clue how he was going to make it through this date.

The servant poured a cup for him, and he immediately took a sip, even though it was still way too hot. Caffeine was worth killing taste buds for. It was painful, but so so worth it. He must have made some sort of happy face when he took his first sip, because Gemma laughed and asked, "Late night?"

Eli set the cup down. "Try didn't sleep at all."

"'How are you still functioning? I went to bed at twelve thirty last night and woke up at six thirty, and I definitely feel the missing hours."

Eli shrugged. "I'm used to it, unfortunately. I get six or seven on a good night."

She shook her head. "That can't be healthy. Trouble sleeping, or too busy?"

"Little bit of both," he admitted. He was vaguely aware that he was giving away too much too easily, that he was letting his mask slip, but he was too tired and keeping it up was too much effort. And anyway she was probably alright, since she had kept Micah's secret.

"Mmm. Do you take anything to help you sleep?"

He shook his head. "I have sleeping pills, but I never take them because they knock me out for like ten hours and I don't have that much time."

The photographer walked into the room, effectively ending their conversation. Eli wasn't about to talk about his personal problems in front of the press, even after twenty-five straight hours of no sleep.

She had them pose for a few pictures, and Eli desperately hoped that he didn't look like a total zombie in all of them. He supposed it didn't really matter if he did, it could be chalked up to a hangover.

As soon as she left two plates of waffles soaked in syrup and topped with cooked apples were brought in. Eli wasn't particularly hungry, and really eating sounded like way too much effort, but he gave it his best shot anyway. He nearly dropped his fork once, and hoped Gemma didn't notice.

But of course, she did. "What are you going to be doing this afternoon?" She asked.

Eli shrugged. "Probably keeping Micah company. He's going to be having a pretty rough time for a couple of days, most likely."

She looked as if she was about to say something, but then didn't, and took another bite of her waffles instead, before saying, "Don't you want to get some rest?"

He took another sip of coffee. "I mean, yeah, but not if it means Micah is on his own this afternoon. I can sleep next week."

She hesitated, cutting her waffles into neat bites as she thought, but eventually said, "I could keep him company, if you're okay with that. Like I said, Micah and I have already met, and we've talked a little bit about things. So if you want someone to keep an eye on him for a bit, I could do it."

Eli wasn't sure if he wanted to take her up on that or not. He desperately wanted to sleep, but he wasn't sure about this. Maybe he could ask Micah if it was alright with him. Yeah. That sounded good. There was no reason that Eli shouldn't take her up on her offer, if Micah was cool with it. "I'll ask Micah what he thinks after this."

She nodded, taking another bite of her waffles. "Alright."

"Let's talk about something else," he suggested. "This is a date, let's talk about something people who are on dates talk about."

"And what exactly would 'something people who are on dates talk about' be?"

Eli shrugged. "I don't know. What do you do? Your form didn't say."

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "I've never needed to work, so I don't. I spend most of my time with my plants."

"Ah. I only wish I had that luxury."

She raised her eyebrows. "Do you really?"

"I mean, kind of." Too much honesty there probably. He needed to dial it back. "I dunno what I'd do with myself if I had that much free time, though." He did know, but he wasn't ready to be that honest.

"You could always take up gardening," she suggested jokingly.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. When I was in college, my…" Ex-girlfriend. "Friend grew some plants on the windowsill of…" Our. "Her apartment. She had me take care of them for a week once, and they were all dead before the week was up. And I watered them every day." It had been a mistake to talk about Isabelle. He hoped that she wouldn't read anything into the pauses. Thank God this was Gemma, not Nefertiti. Nefertiti would have read something into them for sure.

She laughed slightly. "You probably watered them too much. If you're not careful, you can drown plants."

"Great. I'll keep that in mind if she ever asks me to water her plants again. She won't, though." Because she was dead. Not because he had killed the plants. Gemma would assume it was because of the dead plants, though.

"I'll teach you sometime, if you like," she offered. "How to properly care for plants."

"Sure. That sounds kind of fun. We'll do that sometime," he agreed. He tiredly pushed a bite of his waffle around on his plate. How much longer before he could declare that this had been an excellent date and it was time for it to be over.

Gemma clearly picked up on how tired he was, because she said, "Do you think this has been long enough for the whole 'reputation' thing?"

"Oh, absolutely. All we really needed was the pictures, to be honest."

She nodded in understanding. "So what I'm hearing is if you ever need an excuse to catch up on a few hours of sleep, all you have to do is call on a sympathetic Selected girl, ask her on a date, stick around for fifteen minutes to get pictures taken, and then you can go sleep somewhere."

"Uh, yeah, I guess." He hadn't thought of that before, but she was right. That would be an easy way to get free time, without anyone calling him out for daring to take a couple of hours off.

"Great. I volunteer to be the sympathetic Selected."

"I thought you were going to teach me how to garden on our next date." He realized he was effectively promising her a second date, but he didn't see any reason why he might want to eliminate her any time soon.

She looked slightly surprised, but said, "If you want to learn how to garden, I can teach you any time. I just thought I would offer, since you say you don't get enough sleep."

"Well, I appreciate it, and I might take you up on it sometime." He smiled at her. "Anyway, are we ready to call this date over?"

She nodded. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Alright. I'm going to find out how Micah feels about you keeping him company for a bit, and I'll come down to the Selected's Wing and let you know. Sound good?"

"Sounds good."

"Alright, sweet. See you." He stood up, and left the room, heading back to his bedroom.

Micah had moved to laying on the bed, clearly half-asleep. Eli felt bad about doing it, but he shook his shoulder lightly. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Micah stirred slightly. "More hungover than anything really," he mumbled.

"That's good." Eli let his hand sit on Micah's shoulder for a moment before pulling it away. "So, I think my date with Gemma went pretty well. But she walked in on me talking to Jay, so she knows what happened last night. And she told me that you guys have talked before. She also offered to keep an eye on you for a few hours today so I can get some sleep."

"If you didn't take her up on it you're an idiot," Micah mumbled before rolling over to bury his face in the pillows. "You need to sleep."

"I told her I'd ask you what you thought. So I guess I'll go tell her it's a yes."

"Close the blinds on the way out, I'm dying," Micah said, voice muffled by the pillows.

"You're not dying," Eli said, rolling his eyes but going to close the blinds anyway. "You're just being a drama queen."

"Says you. Hypocrite."

"Just shut up already, dying people don't talk." He turned the lights off as well on his way out.

He made his way down to the Selected's Wing, heading straight for Gemma's room, but Addie stepped into his path, stopping him.

Well, shit.

Of course, Thea was watching. So whatever Addie had to say, it was going to be public. Between Thea and Addie, he knew news traveled fast among the Selected. Oh boy. From the look on her face, he could already tell it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"You lied to me," she said quietly.

Somehow he thought 'I lie to everybody, you aren't special,' wouldn't be particularly comforting, even if it was the truth. So instead he said, "Yeah, I guess I did." He tried to think back and remember what had been said after she had left, if it had been particularly incriminating. No, he hadn't. But what if she had followed him, and had seen Micah passed out with a needle in his arm? There wasn't really any way around her knowing what had happened if she had seen that.

Oh shit. He had sworn about five times in the course of a minute. So much for a good impression. But he had also made Marlee call him a dickhead in front of everyone just a week before, so it wouldn't exactly be much of a surprise that he wasn't always perfectly refined and princely. So that was probably alright. It was really just a matter of how much she had seen.

"Yeah, I guess I did? That's all you have to say?" She whispered.

He ran a hand through his hair, stressed. This was very much not good. "I didn't have a choice."

"Why couldn't you tell me the truth?"

He sighed. "It's complicated. Let's say you have a friend."

She nodded. "Alright. I have a friend." At least she seemed willing enough to play along.

"And let's say this friend told you something in confidence. And let's say this secret led to an incident that you have to drop everything to deal with. And you're with someone who needs an explanation of why you have to drop everything. But you can't betray your friend, who doesn't want this secret spread around. What do you do?"

She hesitated, chewing on her lower lip. "You tell them something happened and you can't tell them what it is, but you have to go."

"And what did I tell you?"

"That I didn't have security clearance for this one."

"Yeah. And while that might have been a little bit of a half-truth, I basically said what you told me I should have said, except I made sure you wouldn't ask any more questions about it by implying that it was something official."

She nodded. "I guess I see it. I'm sorry." She turned away, heading for Thea, who had been watching this whole time. They headed off together, talking quietly between them, leaving Eli feeling horribly guilty. This time he had only lied a little bit. But next time it wouldn't be so minor. And he had no doubt that he would lie again. To her and all of the other Selected.

* * *

_**Illéa in Focus**_

_**July 21st**_

_**After The Ball**_

Last night, the thirty remaining Selected attended a ball hosted by the royal family. (Pictures from the event are on page 11) Eli appeared to favor a few particular ladies. Lady Calista was the first he sought out at the ball, and the first Selected he danced with. Although he didn't dance with her, he spent a good bit of time chatting with Lady Nefertiti. Our photographers didn't catch them together, but word on the street is that he asked Lady Gemma on a date today during the ball. So it appears that these three are the ladies to watch if you want to know who Eli's favorites are.

On to the dresses! The Selected all looked radiant, of course, but some of them were better dressed than others. Below is Illéa in Focus's take on the matter.

_Best Dressed List_

1 Calista Matapang

2 Helena Tomas

3 Cassandra White

4 Gemma Albright

5 Nefertiti Gamel

6 Florida Smith

7 Marlee Weston

8 Liath Ereshkigal

9 Ixchel Hamilton

10 Angelique West

11 Elaine Walton

12 Zenya Laventis

13 Yunuen Hamilton

14 Thea Verdant

15 Lydie Tyler

16 Violet Harper

17 Adelynn Sailor

18 Lennox Flecks

19 Wilhelmina Von Schmidt

Continued on page 10...

* * *

**AN: TW: Drug use/Drug overdose**

**The rankings are based as much on media bias as anything else...**


	17. Chapter 17

**TW: Drugs**

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, Angeles, July 22nd, 8:37am_

_Elijah_

Micah was sitting on the end of Eli's bed, wearing an old and rather worn out hoodie, looking only slightly worse for wear, mostly due to having to put up with Eli's total inability to fall asleep at a somewhat normal time, probably made worse due to the fact that Eli had slept six hours during the day on Sunday. He felt kind of bad about accidentally keeping Micah up, but he had a good reason to want to play babysitter right now.

Eli was dressed up, in stark contrast to Micah. He had a meeting in less than thirty minutes, and he was probably going to be late, but there was nothing he could do about that now. It wasn't his fault Micah had snoozed his alarm before it could wake Eli up. Twice. Jerk. "This is your fault, by the way," he said.

"What's my fault this time?"

"I'm going to be late." Eli pulled open a drawer, searching for a specific pair of cufflinks. He could have sworn they had been on top of his dresser on Thursday, but now they were nowhere to be found.

"Oh. That is my fault, you're right. And I don't regret it."

"You're an ass," Eli said fondly. Micah was probably right, Eli could use the sleep, but that didn't mean he wasn't a little bit annoyed. Not too annoyed, though.

Micah reached out and pulled a file off Eli's desk. "Watch what you say, I've done half of your Selection planning for you. Do you want me to quit?"

"You don't have to do it," Eli said, still searching for his cufflinks. "In fact, if it's too much, I _want_ you to stop."

Micah rolled his eyes. "What am I supposed to do? Lay in bed moping and thinking about how much my life sucks? I could use the distraction from my own stupid fucking brain."

"Fair enough." He wasn't about to argue on this one. If planning kept Micah out of trouble, then he was welcome to do it.

Why couldn't he find those stupid freaking cufflinks anywhere? Oh, those were the cufflinks he had let Jay borrow, and he still hadn't gotten them back from him. No wonder he couldn't find them. He was about to shut the drawer when his eyes fell on a small black jewelry box shoved in the back. The sight of it immediately destroyed any good feelings he might have had before he had seen it.

He reached out to pull the box out of the drawer, even though it was the last thing he wanted to look at, and held it in one hand, debating with himself about opening it. The reminder would be painful, but he kind of wanted to feel it.

"What's that?" He heard Micah ask behind him. Eli turned around and flipped open the box to show him, and heard him suck in a breath. "Is that—"

Eli cut him off before he could say it. "Yup." He took a long look at the ring himself. It was silver, and fairly simple, made from two strands of metal twisted together, with small stones set close together along part of it. She hadn't been one for ostentatious jewelry, and while if Eli had given her a ridiculous ring, she would have worn it, big diamonds would have just looked wrong on her left hand.

Of course, he had never gotten the chance to even give her this ring. He slammed the box closed and tossed it back in the drawer, and slammed the drawer as well. He had shoved the engagement ring in that drawer the day after the funeral, never intending to pull it out again, never wanting to even see that stupid thing again. And now he had, and it had been a mistake.

"So, I'm assuming now would be a bad time to ask you who you want to go out with this week?"

"Very," Eli spat out, reaching for a different pair of cufflinks.

"Alright. Don't get bitchy with me, it's not my fault."

That sounded like something she would say, when Eli was in a bad mood from dealing with too much bullshit all day. In fact, he vaguely remembered that she had said that before, almost word for word. "You could stop trying to act like her," he said angrily.

"What? Jesus Christ, Eli. I'm not."

Eli sighed and sat down on the bed next to Micah, burying his face in his hands, suddenly not angry anymore. "It hurts," he mumbled.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sorry I was a bitch."

"Don't worry about it. You are a bitch, but I forgive you."

Eli laughed. "Thanks. But that doesn't really make me feel any better."

"You're going to be okay. I'll pick two girls for you this week, and that'll be that. And I know you already know who to eliminate on Friday. Otherwise I'd pick that for you too."

Eli nodded again. "Thanks. And I'm still sorry."

"Seriously. Don't worry about it." Micah glanced up at the clock. "You'd better get a move on, you've got less than ten minutes."

"Oh." Eli glanced up at the clock. "Well, shit." He stood up, but paused for a moment on his way to the door. "Are you going to be alright on your own today?"

Micah nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"Are you sure about that? Because if you die and there's an afterlife I'm going to meet you there and punch you so hard you die again."

Micah laughed. "I'll be okay. I promise. No need to punch me in the afterlife."

"Good," Eli said as he left the room.

Eli was late, by about five minutes, and he ignored Dad's dirty look as he sat down in the empty chair that had been saved for him. He would have to deal with that afterwards. Ugh.

Just as he had predicted, after the meeting ended and the room cleared out, Dad gave him a nasty look. "We've talked about your behavior before, haven't we? And what did you tell me?"

"That I wasn't going to be late again," he mumbled, staring down at his shoes.

"Look up at me, son. You're a prince, act like a fucking prince."

Eli raised his eyes. If he just did as he was told, then he could leave.

"Well? What happened to 'I'm not going to be late anymore, I'm going to take my responsibilities seriously'?"

Eli knew it was a terrible idea to tell his father what exactly had happened, from long experience, so he said, "I overslept."

Dad snorted. "Of course you did. You're lazy, that's all there is to it. You need a better work ethic. How are you going to rule a country if you can't even get out of bed?"

There had been a lot of days where Eli had wondered that himself, although for different reasons. Was he really fit to rule a country? How much crazy was too much crazy to be in charge? He tried not to think too hard about it. There wasn't anything he could do about it except try his best. One thing he did know is that he wouldn't schedule any meetings before ten when he was in charge.

Dad grabbed a stack of folders off his desk, and handed them to Eli. "Here. Take care of these. To fix your work ethic problem. I expect to see results by the end of the day. And if I don't, well, maybe I should ban your friends from the palace."

Eli wasn't a fucking child Dad could ground on a whim. Except he could. Ugh. It was fucking annoying to be treated like that, but there wasn't anything he could do, so he just took the folders and held his tongue. It looked like he would be spending every free hour that wasn't consumed by meetings today working. Micah could not be banned from the palace. It just couldn't happen. Eli was relying on Micah, but Micah was relying on Eli too, and Eli didn't want to think about what might happen if Micah was one hundred percent on his own.

He headed over to his office to get started. Eli wasn't sure how much time passed before he looked up and saw Jenn sitting in the chair across from him, flipping through one of the folders, clearly off the top of his stack. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Helping you perfect the art of delegation."

"Okay." He was relieved, honestly. This was too much to do in the limited time he had. "You don't have to."

"I need an internship to finish my degree. This counts. So yes, I do." She flipped a page. "I have good news for you."

"What's that?" Eli asked distractedly.

"Zach and Adrienne are coming."

"Oh really? I thought they were staying in France until the end of the summer."

"Change of plans."

"Huh. Your boo Nicholas coming?"

"I haven't heard. And God, I hope not. He's nice enough, but…"

"I know, I know. I'll scare him off for you if he does show up."

"Thanks." She paused for a moment, before saying, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

She shrugged. "A lot of things." She didn't say anything else.

* * *

_Liath's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 23rd,10:47am_

_Liath Ereshkigal, 2, Sonage_

Ermine: So is he socially maladjusted like we said? :)

Liath turned at the sound of her phone buzzing, and picked up to see Ermine's message on the screen. She smiled slightly, amused, and unlocked her phone to respond.

Liath: No, he seems fine actually. He doesn't even seem super out of touch with the real world. Which is what I would have expected from a guy like him.

Ermine: Huh. That's interesting.

Ermine: Done with your peek at the lifestyles of the one percent yet?

Liath: Nah. Medical bills aren't paid off yet

Liath: I think he's kind of into me, too. This is only the sixth date, and he's invited me.

Ermine: As Roman would say: You?

Liath: And as I would say to Roman: Oh shut up

Liath: Anyway, I'd better go. Like I said, I have a date.

Ermine: Okay. Have fun. Tell us all how it went afterwards.

Liath put her phone away, and stood up, smoothing out her skirt. She honestly wasn't sure what to expect. Nobody except Gemma had seen Eli anywhere since the ball on Saturday, and Gemma had refused to gossip about her date. Which was admirable, really, but she could have used more information. They had only spoken twice, and she was still trying to work out just who Eli really was.

There was a knock on her door, and she went to open it. Eli was waiting outside the door, hands in the pockets of his dress pants. "Hello, Lady Liath. Ready to go?" He held out an arm.

She accepted it, and let him lead her through the palace, silently. She didn't ask where they were going, assuming she'd find out soon enough.

Once they were partway there, Eli stopped in the middle of the corridor, and said, "Guess where we're going?"

He seemed kind of excited, and it was sort of cute. But it wasn't hard to guess at all. "The roof?"

"Yeah. We have to go the normal people way, though, because I have a desk job and don't get much practice climbing buildings."

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "I would expect that you wouldn't be allowed."

"Never stopped me when I was a kid." He shrugged. "I used to climb out windows during meetings without anyone noticing when I was like seven." He laughed. "It's all been downhill since then. Now I think someone would miss me if I climbed out a window and made a run for it."

Joking about ditching responsibilities. That was not a point in Eli's favor.

He reached for her hand instead of holding out his arm as they headed the rest of the way to the rooftop, and she let him take it.

They headed through a few service access corridors, then arrived on the roof, where a blanket and food were laid out, like a picnic.

She sat down, and Eli did the same. He reached for the bottle of wine first. Another point very much not in his favor. "Want some?" He asked as he poured.

She shook her head. "More of a whiskey kind of girl, really."

"Oh, me too. Slightly more acceptable to day drink if it's just wine though." He laughed, setting the half-full wine glass aside. "That can be arranged, though, if you give me a couple of minutes."

"No, you don't have to do that." Another point not in his favor. He seemed to really be the guy he presented himself as.

"I have a stash like one floor down from here, I think." He stood up. "I'm going to go get it." He vanished back through the access hatch, and returned a few minutes later, holding a metal flask in one hand. He unscrewed the cap, took a drink, and passed it over to her. "Here."

She took a drink herself, pleasantly surprised to find that he at least had good taste in alcohol. She supposed if you had to be an irresponsible playboy, having good taste in drinks was worth at least one point in your favor. She took a look at the flask in her hand. It was made of silver metal, and was engraved with someone's initials. I.G.L., it read. Someone had taken a sharpie to it, and drawn an X over the L, and the letter S was scrawled above the crossed out letter L.

She looked up, to find Eli staring at the flask, an unreadable look in his eyes. When he noticed she was looking at him, he immediately started smiling again, and reached out to take the flask from her. She let him have it, and he took another drink.

"Who's initials?" She asked. Maybe this was all more complicated that she had expected.

"Not important." He passed it back to her.

Suddenly the pieces almost clicked. Crossing out her last name and writing in your own. How middle school. "Ex-girlfriend?"

"Yeah. It was a long time ago, though."

"How long?" She raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by that. How had no one known he had had a girlfriend.

"Few years."

"No, how long were you together?"

"Few years."

Oh, so it had been a serious relationship. There was more baggage here than she had thought. Maybe she and Ermine hadn't been terribly far off with their jokes about him. Or maybe this ex-girlfriend was the reason he wasn't horribly out of touch.

* * *

_Council Offices, The Palace, Angeles, July 23rd, 2:05pm_

_Elijah_

Eli's date with Liath… hadn't gone as well as he would have liked. She was still hot, but they didn't seem to have as much in common as he had hoped. Still worth giving her another chance, though.

He wished he hadn't found that flask, though. That had led to awkward questions. He had rearranged the truth a little bit to make her believe that he was over Isabelle, but he was sure she was no idiot, and she had her suspicions.

He walked into the main council offices, looking for Councilor Murray to answer a question about the report he had sent earlier. Eli was admittedly slightly tipsy from drinking with Liath, so maybe he had missed something, but whatever.

He walked into Councilor Murray's section of the office, only to find that Dad was already there. And horribly enough, someone he recognized. Ella Maxwell. They had met briefly at Isabelle's funeral.

What the fuck was up with all these reminders of her? First the engagement ring, then the flask, then her fucking cousin had to show up in the palace.

Councilor Murray turned towards him as he entered. "Prince Elijah! How was your date this afternoon?"

"Fine," he said, trying to avoid Ella's gaze. She was watching him, as if she was trying to work out where she had seen him before that wasn't on TV. He hadn't been stupid enough to attend the funeral using his own name, of course, but he hadn't done much to hide his face.

Councilor Murray rested his hand on Ella's shoulder. "This here is Ella Maxwell. She's managing press for my department now."

Oh really? He had known Ella had married up, Isabelle had talked about it, but that had been a pretty big jump. He held out a hand towards her. "Nice to meet you, Ella."

She accepted it, and he could see the moment recognition clicked in her eyes. She knew who he was, and she knew how he had been involved with her cousin.

Because he had told her.

While drunk at her cousin's funeral.

But she didn't say a word, just shook his hand, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Your Highness."

He suddenly got the impression that she was just as dangerous a woman as her cousin had been.

He might be in deeper shit than he had expected.

The rest of the work day went fine, and at the end of it, Eli found himself in his room with the window open wide, sitting on the wide ledge that made up the windowsill, holding the flask in one hand. It was still half-full, and he intended to drink the rest of it before bed.

He rubbed at the sharpie on the side, hoping he could rub it off. It really was kind of juvenile. He remembered the moment he had written it. She had laughed and called him an idiot then, but she hadn't tried to wipe it off.

She had been sentimental, although she wouldn't admit it.

The door to his room opened, and Eli looked up, expecting to see Matthias, but instead Micah came in. "Hey. What's up?"

"I saw her cousin today."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Are you stupid?" Eli closed his eyes, resting the back of his head against the wall. "I mean someone who knows about her is working in the palace and she could spill all my secrets to all the wrong people. Was my meaning not clear before?" He got progressively louder as he talked, and even though he hadn't meant to sound annoyed or angry, he knew he did.

"Jesus, Eli, what's wrong with you?"

He threw the flask. It was only once it had hit the wall, bounced off, and landed with a clang on the wooden floor that he realized that he shouldn't have done that. He and Micah stared at each other for a long moment, both of them shocked that Eli had actually physically lashed out.

Eli was a good person. Or so he had thought. He didn't do shit like this. He didn't hurt people, or threaten people, or scare people.

Maybe he wasn't actually a good person. In the moment that he had that stomach-dropping realization, Micah stepped forward, reaching out as if to rest a hand on Eli's shoulder. "Eli—"

Eli moved before he could touch him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, crossing the room and grabbing the flask from where it had landed on the floor before hurrying for the door.

He walked through the palace, ignoring everyone who tried to get his attention, until he found a place where he could actually be alone with his thoughts, in a secret passage on the third floor.

There was a dent in the metal of the flask now, probably from hitting the wall and then the floor. He rubbed at the dent, letting another wave of guilt wash over him, trying to convince himself that he was still a good person. He wasn't actually angry with Micah, he was just angry at the world in general and taking it out on him. But that didn't make it any better. If he could flip out at Micah when he was down, what could he do to other people?

Lost in thought, he didn't hear the sound of the panel that hid the entrance to the passage clicking, and then swinging open. It wasn't until the light coming in from the now open passage hit his eyes that he noticed it was open and turned to look.

Mel was standing there, a guilty expression on her face. Of course, the last person he wanted to see when he was convinced he was a bad person just had to show up, because Eli never had any fucking luck. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Exploring," she said, still looking guilty. "I know I'm not supposed—"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on in, I'm not going to go running to tell your mother."

She stepped into the passage, and plunked down on the floor next to him. "Are you drinking? You smell like alcohol."

"Not anymore I'm not." He slid the flask down the hallway, so it was out of reach and not visible in the dark. "And you're seven, you're not supposed to know anything about alcohol."

"Well, I do." She went quiet after that. Eli was perfectly happy to let her stay that way, and he hoped that she would get up and get back to exploring, but after a while, she said, "What's wrong? What are you sad about?"

He didn't answer the question. Instead he asked one of his own. "Do you think I'm a bad person, Mel?"

"No, of course not. You're my brother." Somehow that wasn't particularly comforting. "Why would you be a bad person? Did you do something bad?"

"Yes."

She fixed him with a stern look. "Well are you sorry?"

"Yes."

"Well, then you're not a bad person. Bad people are never sorry."

It wasn't quite as black and white as Mel thought it was, but still, that helped. "And what should I say?"

"That you're sorry. And you won't do it again. And you don't make excuses because excuses make people angry with you."

She knew that from experience. He was sure of it. And nothing he could do would protect her. "Thank you."

"You're still sad."

"About something else now. Don't worry about it." He stood up. "Have a good time. Make sure you aren't late to dinner, or you'll be in big trouble with your mother."

She nodded. "Good luck," she called out after him as he left the passage.

There was just one problem. He didn't know where to find Micah. He tried his room first, then the garden. Then, finally, he tried the roof, and found him up there, with Jenn. They were talking about him, he knew, even though they were talking in voices too low for him to hear. He cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "Talking about me?" He asked.

Jenn gave him a guilty look. "Only a little. Come here, okay?"

He nodded, and crossed the roof to sit down in between them. He immediately turned to Micah. "I'm sorry. Seriously, I am."

Micah nodded. "Don't worry about it. Either your aim really sucks or you weren't actually trying to hit me."

"Still, I feel like shit. I'm supposed to be a good person. Or at least not a bad person. I'm supposed to be helping you, not throwing things at you."

Jenn reached out to touch his shoulder. "You've been bottling it all up for too long, okay? Just relax. It's okay."

He shook his head. "No, it's not. I can't relax."

"Nobody's watching you, Eli. You can."

He just shook his head. "No, I really can't. Get me really really fucking drunk and then maybe we can talk about my emotional issues, but I can't do it mostly sober."

"I'm sorry."

"You keep saying that, when you really don't have to."

Jenn shook her head. "No, I do." She squeezed her shoulder with one hand before standing up. "We'll talk later, then." She left the rooftop, leaving Eli and Micah alone.

A moment passed in silence, while Eli tried to think of what to say other than 'I'm sorry'. He couldn't think of anything, so he was grateful when Micah broke the silence. "Have you eaten yet?"

Eli shook his head.

"Me neither." He sighed. "Look, obviously you shouldn't go around throwing shit at people, but I'm not even a little bit upset about it. Should you have done it? No, but I understand what's going on in your head, better than you think. People do shitty things sometimes when they aren't thinking straight. I just think that Jenn is right, and you need to be locked in a soundproof room with a shit ton of alcohol to get it all out. Or maybe like, professional help or something. Second option would probably be better for your liver."

"Not gonna happen. And if we're talking about professional help..."

Micah shook his head. "Been there, done that, didn't help. I know it's not going to happen, I'm just saying. Come on, when was the last time you ate? You'll feel better if you do."

* * *

_Women's Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 23rd, 4:51pm_

_Brielle Bennet, 2, Fennley_

A pile of magazines filled a coffee table in the women's room. They all bore headlines like 'A Look At The Favorite Selected' or 'Your Predictions For Selection Winner'. Brielle wasn't sure where the magazines had come from, but she was glad to have them all the same. Many of the Selected had jumped at the chance to find out what people thought of them, most prominently Cassandra, Lena, Yunuen, Wilhelmina, and Nefertiti, but just as many, maybe more, were completely ignoring the magazines.

Brielle absently flipped through the magazine she was holding, which was a week old, and had photographs from the first five dates. She only skimmed the articles, already knowing what it had to say. She and Eli appeared to be having a good time together and maybe she was finally getting over the heartbreak of her ex-boyfriend Beck. She wished the magazines could just find something else to talk about already when it came to her. Surely everyone knew about Beck by now, and they could stop talking about it.

She flipped another page, and saw photos from Isla's date. They were clearly candid shots, and it looked like they were having a good time. She looked around the room for Isla, but didn't spot her anywhere. She didn't see Liath, Flo, or Lydie either, for that matter. Surprisingly enough, she saw Ixchel, in a corner with a book titled 'History of Modern-Day Paloma', instead of in the library as usual.

She tossed the magazine back on the stack on the coffee table, and held out a hand for the magazine Lena was about to put aside. Lena handed it to her with the words, "I wouldn't put too much stock in their ratings if I were you."

It was an issue of Illéa in Focus from just after the ball. Brielle flipped through it, but found her own name disappointing low on the list, but found Lena had come in second. She wondered if Lena had wanted a higher spot on the list, or if she had expected a lower ranking.

Cassandra leaned over her shoulder from the spot on the couch next to her to see the list. "I'm in third? Really? Are they kidding me?"

"Their accuracy is questionable." Lena held out a hand, and Brielle passed her the magazine. "I didn't think Cali's dress was anything special." Lena glanced over towards Cali, who was playing a board game with Jade and Gemma.

"I thought she looked nice," Brielle said. Sure, she was disappointed about not getting a higher ranking, but Cali's dress had been pretty.

"I didn't think there was anything wrong with the ranking either, other than the fact that they didn't say anything about what the criteria for the rankings was." Nefertiti flipped a few pages in the magazine she was holding. "I suppose these aren't exactly the pinnacle of good journalism." She laughed. "Maybe Addie should have been higher, she looked nice, but they ranked her really low. Lennox too. Smells like caste bias to me, actually, once I think about it."

"They ranked Wilhelmina super low. And me too," Brielle pointed out. "And both Zenya and Violet got higher rankings."

"According to this Zenya is Eli's favorite, that's why they're ranking her so high." Nefertiti flipped the magazine around so they could see the picture. In it, Eli was giving Zenya a wide smile, a different smile than the one he gave all the other girls.

Lena gave the picture a long hard look. "Huh."

Cassandra did the same, but it was obviously a jealous look. Brielle had figured out already that Cassandra hated to lose. "I would have thought they would be betting on Gemma, I heard he asked her on a date at the ball."

Nefertiti shrugged. "Other magazines are, it's just this one that's betting on Zenya." She closed the magazine. "Wonder if Zenya's seen this. I think I'll go show her." She stood up, heading for where Zenya was sitting with Lainey, who was teaching her how to do something on the cell phone Zenya had mysteriously acquired.

Cassandra gave Zenya a dirty look. "I heard she got that phone from Eli. And I heard she got his personal number."

Lena picked up another magazine. "Well, if she has a direct way to reach Eli, you should watch what you say about her." She fixed Cassandra with a warning look. "Or maybe you shouldn't."

Brielle suddenly didn't want to be sitting in between them anymore. If things escalated, she didn't want to be there. The last thing she wanted to do was have a panic attack for all the Selected to see.

Fortunately, an obvious escape came quickly, when the door to the Women's Room swung open and Mel came in. Brielle stood up and headed over to her, smiling.

Mel glanced up at her. "Learned any songs about superheros yet?"

"I haven't found any in my songbooks yet. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. Let me know when you do." Mel closed the door behind her, and sprinted across the room, towards the table where Addie, Thea, Marlee, Lennox, and Violet were playing cards. Brielle could faintly hear her say, "Can you teach me how to play?"

Brielle headed back over to the stack of magazines, and grabbed another one, sitting next to Wilhelmina this time. Wilhelmina gave her a polite smile before continuing to flip through the magazine she was holding, and Brielle nodded in acknowledgement before continuing to search the magazine for any mention of her name.

* * *

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, Angeles, July 25th, 1:14am_

_Elijah_

"I need help."

Those words out of Micah's mouth were the last thing Eli wanted to wake up to at one in the morning, but they were nothing but effective. He immediately sat up, completely awake, and rubbed at his eyes. "Okay. What's up? What did you do? What did you take?"

Micah sat down on the edge of the bed, guilty expression on his face. "Nothing. Yet."

"Okay. Thank God. Let's keep it that way, okay?" Eli held out a hand. "If you've got anything, I want you to give it to me and we'll get rid of it."

Micah pulled a pill bottle out of the pocket of his jeans and dropped it into Eli's outstretched hand, white pills rattling inside.

"Thank you." Eli slid the bottle into the pocket of his pants and got out of bed to find a pair of shoes. "Come on. We're going to go dump these in the fountain." He finished putting his shoes on and left the room, Micah following.

They made their way down into the gardens, and stood side-by-side in front of the fountain. Eli unscrewed the cap from the bottle, and held it out to Micah. "You want to do the honors?"

Micah nodded, took the pill bottle, and dumped the pills into the fountain, watching as they fell. He handed the bottle back to Eli, who took a look at the name on the prescription label. Lillian Anderson. He raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything about how Micah must have got these. He simply ripped that section of the label off, shoved it in his pocket, screwed the cap back on, and threw the bottle as hard as he could. It landed in a bush, where it probably wouldn't be found for weeks.

He rested a hand on Micah's shoulder. "There. It never happened." He turned to look at him. "Want to talk about it?"

Micah shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Not really."

"Fair enough. Thanks for waking me up."

"No, thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. I meant what I said. I'll do this as many times as it takes." A promise he had repeated what felt like a hundred times over. And he would repeat it again. As many times as it took. "Want to watch a movie or something? I've been meaning to watch this one movie that just came out."

* * *

_Sitting Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 25th, 11:55am_

_Lennox Flecks, 6, Columbia_

Lennox took a nervous sip of water as Prince Elijah entered the room and sat down across the table from her. A photographer followed him in, and had them pose for a few pictures, then left them alone. She knew it was time to make a confession. Plan A had failed. She had done a terrible job of being flirty enough to make sure he kept her around, so it was time for Plan B.

"So, Lady Lennox, how has your week been?"

"It's been good. I saw your sister. She came to the Women's Room yesterday."

"Oh yeah? Which one? Mel, right?"

"Yeah. She's a cutie."

"She really is. When she wants to be. Sometimes she's completely annoying. She's started spying on me, it's kind of funny but also really annoying because I'm the one who has to explain to her mother why she's repeating certain things I've said that weren't meant to be heard by a seven year old."

"Yeah, I think I heard some of that." She laughed. "She told us some interesting things."

"Oh God, what's she saying now? For the record it was probably a joke out of context."

"I'll leave you to sweat and think about everything you've said in the past week that you thought was secret."

He laughed. "You're so mean. Whatever it was, I want to know so I can do damage control."

Lennox shook her head. "I'm just kidding. The only thing she said is that you're sad about something, and we should try to cheer you up."

He smiled. "Aww, that's sweet. But she's wrong. There's nothing wrong. I'm not sad. I don't have any reason to be after all." He gestured towards the pad of paper she kept on the table. "What's that for?"

"Writing things down. Stories and such. I want to be a journalist."

"Oh, sweet. You and Lady Nefertiti should talk, she works for a news station in Zuni." He paused, and she could see realization of the reason she was there in his eyes.

Time for her explanation. "I have a confession to make."

"You're here for my money? Yeah, I figured. That's okay. I won't eliminate you for it. It's not your fault doing something like this is the only way you can move up in the world."

She was kind of surprised by that. "Well, that's not the whole thing." She took a deep breath. "I'm actually a lesbian."

He just laughed, and she said, "Let me guess, you're…"

He shook his head. "Oh, hell no. I'm into girls. I mean how can you not be? I don't understand why straight women even exist. I mean obviously I'm glad they do, because otherwise I'd be out of luck, but damn, guys are not pretty. Anyway. I want to set you up with a friend of mine, if that's cool with you."

She paused. "You want to set me up? With who?"

"Can't out her without permission." He stood up. "I'll let you know."

Lennox waited nearly twenty minutes before he came back, dragging someone behind him. Princess Jenevieve stepped into the room, smiling nervously, looking very nice, dressed in a work-appropriate dress, with her hair pulled back. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She whispered nervously to Eli.

He patted her on the shoulder. "It's a great idea." He turned to Lennox. "This is my sister, Jenn." He gave Jenn another slight push towards the table. "Have fun. I'll be next door, let me know when you're done so I can walk Lennox back." He turned and left the room.

Jenn sat down in the empty seat at the table. "So, that's my brother. Something else, isn't he?"

Lennox nodded awkwardly. It hadn't been awkward with Eli, but now that she was on an actual date with a pretty girl, it was awkward.

"So, I've never done this before. Gone on a date. With a girl."

"Oh, me neither. There's a shortage of gay women in a small town."

"I'm in the closet." Jenn took a nervous sip of her water. "And I probably will be until… for a very long time, anyway."

"Why? Gay marriage is legal. In a lot of places, you probably wouldn't even get any hate."

"Not for me it's not. I'm second in line, I have to have permission from the monarch to get married. And right now, that would be my father."

Lennox nodded. "I think I get it. No reason not to date though."

Jenn smiled. "No. It's not. So tell me, what do you do? I don't think I got a chance to look at your form.

* * *

_Entrance Room, The Palace, Angeles, July 25th, 4:43pm_

_Elijah_

Eli had been in a terrible mood all day. Hell, thinking about it, he had been in a terrible mood all week. A few hours by himself while Jenn had taken over his date with Lennox had gone a long way towards making him feel better, but he still felt like he was two steps from falling apart and letting the cracks show too much again, like he had on Tuesday.

Hopefully this would be at least somewhat of a distraction from the fact that he felt like his carefully crafted mask was falling down. If he was lucky, it would even help to repair the mask so he could keep on hiding. That was unlikely, though. Eli was never lucky.

The front door swung open, and Zach stepped in, hand in hand with Adrienne, followed by a group of guards. Adrienne released Zach's hand immediately upon seeing Eli and swooped in to kiss him on the cheek. "Eli! How have you been?" She said, heavy French accent obvious as she spoke.

"Fine. How's your older brother?"

"Nicholas or Théodore?" She asked with a scowl.

"Either one. Or both." Nicholas was Jenn's potential fiancé to be, and Théodore was the crown prince of France.

"Both shitheads, as older brothers usually are."

"I wouldn't know anything about that," he said, smiling.

She smacked his shoulder affectionately. "Of course you would. You're a shithead older brother, after all."

"That's right. Just ask Jenn about me sometime."

Zach stepped forward, and held out a hand towards Eli. "How've you been, man?"

"Could have been worse. How's your French? Improved at all?"

"Umm…" He paused for a moment, trying to find the words. "Couldn't be worse," he said in French.

"Good enough," Eli said in the same language, then switched back to English for his next words. "What brings you two back to Illéa early?"

"The Selection, of course." Adrienne lowered her voice. "How's that going, actually?"

"It's going. Whether I want it to or not."

She nodded understandingly. "Well, Zach and I are here for backup."

Eli just laughed. "You mean you're here for the eye candy."

"I'm offended. I would never." She put a hand to her heart, making a big show of looking hurt. "Yes, we're here for the eye candy. How are they all so pretty, it's not fair."

"As long as all you do is look," Eli said teasingly.

She reached out to grab Zach's arm. "You know Zach here is my one and only."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Eli started walking, and they followed. "Come on, let's find Micah and talk plans for tonight. I don't know what you guys want to do, but knowing you it's going to be something fun."

"Oh, of course. There's this new club I wanted to check out, and you and Micah can come with us. It'll be a good time."

Eli didn't particularly want to go out, but he needed to, for the sake of the mask, so he would suck it up and go. It was for the best. Although maybe he ought to make Micah sit this one out.

* * *

**AN: How do you guys feel about Zach and Adrienne? Thank you for reading.**


	18. Chapter 18

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, Angeles, July 29th, 8:47am_

_Elijah_

The sun shone in through the open curtains into Eli's eyes, and he brought a hand up to cover them. "What the fuck, Micah?"

"Dude, it's Monday, you should be up by now." Micah stood by the now open curtains, not looking guilty in the least.

"Clearly I wasn't." He groaned, and sat up. "Adrienne is trying to kill me."

"Were you seriously drinking again last night? You've been drinking every night since they got here, if that's the case." Micah shook his head.

"I only had a couple." He tossed back the blankets and climbed out of bed, pushing his hair out of his face with one hand. "I need a hair tie, aspirin, and some coffee."

"Just remember that you need to get ready for Ixchel and Yunuen's birthday."

"I didn't forget, I have an alarm set for nine o'clock. It should be going off in like…" He glanced over at the clock. "Nine minutes." He ran his fingers through his hair before heading into the bathroom to have a look in the mirror. "Maybe Dad is right and I really do need a haircut."

"You'll regret it if you do."

"I'm thinking like two or three inches maybe." He grabbed a hair tie off the counter and used it to pull his hair out of his face. "Nothing drastic. My life hasn't gone to shit that much." Yet.

He reached up to get some aspirin out of the bathroom cabinet. "And wouldn't it be funny if I told Dad I was going to get my hair cut and then showed up with it barely any different?"

Micah laughed. "And there's the Eli I know."

Eli flopped back down on the bed. "The Eli you knew is dead, you're talking to his reanimated corpse."

"Don't talk like that." Micah turned to Matthias, who had just come into the room. "Get him some coffee, he's saying horribly depressing shit again."

"It's true."

"What, that you're saying depressing shit? Yeah. You're making me sad and it's not even fall yet."

"Oh, shut up. It's not that bad."

"For the guy who's been lying since the age of four, you sure are an awful liar sometimes. It is that bad. You're just in denial."

"I'm not in denial."

"You're literally denying being in denial, I call that denial alright."

"I'm fine."

Micah laughed. "I think that's the funniest thing you've ever said."

Eli sat up again. "Enough about my fucking mental health, which is fine. We've got a Selection to plan."

Micah didn't look happy about Eli's refusal to discuss the topic, but Eli didn't care. Micah could be unhappy all he liked. Eli was _fine_, and he didn't need to talk about it.

Micah grabbed a file off of Eli's desk and flipped it open. "Lindsey thinks it would be a good idea to do some group dates. She's suggesting five groups of five, and is leaving the activities up to you."

There was a knock on the door, and Matthias stepped in, holding a cup of coffee, which he passed to Eli. "Jay is outside, should I let him in?"

Eli nodded. "Yeah, go ahead and send him in." He took a sip of the coffee.

Matthias nodded, and turned and left the room. A few moments later Jay stepped into the room, and sat down in Eli's desk chair. "Alright, what's up?"

"Group dates," Micah said, pulling out a blank sheet of paper. He wrote the words, 'Group dates' on the top with a sharpie, then drew a line beneath those words. "Alright. Activity suggestions."

"Karaoke. Making a fool of yourself singing is always a safe bet."

Eli made a face at Jay. "Hey, I'm a great singer."

Jay gave him a skeptical look. "I really doubt that."

"No, he's not actually bad." Micah scribbled Jay's suggestion down. "I'm writing that down, it's a good idea. What else?"

"We could go to the beach," Eli said.

Micah nodded, writing that down as well. "Of course. You and your obsession with water."

"Hey, there's worse things to be obsessed with." Jay gave Micah a dirty look.

Micah looked up from the paper at Jay. "I'm just going to ignore how cheap a dig that was, if you give me another good idea."

"The zoo?"

"Sure." Micah wrote that down too.

Eli glanced over Micah's shoulder to see what he had written down. "Why don't you just let me do that? My handwriting is better."

Micah looked over at him, surprised. "I guess if you want to." He passed over the paper.

Eli crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash, before reaching for a fresh sheet.

"What did you do that for?"

"You used sharpie, it bleeds too much." He grabbed a pen off his desk and started rewriting all the ideas on the new sheet.

"I thought old Eli was dead."

"Sometimes his ghost comes back to haunt me," Eli replied absently as he wrote 'Group Dates' on top of the page in elaborate, loopy, clearly well-practiced handwriting. "Karaoke, the beach, the zoo, right?"

"Yeah. Add painting to the list too."

Eli paused, pen hovering over a tiny doodle of ocean waves. "What? No. I don't paint."

"You don't do that either." Micah gestured towards the tiny doodle. "Just put it on the list. You'll have fun."

Eli glanced down at the doodle he had made unthinkingly, and immediately crumpled up the paper and threw it at the trash can. "You're right. I don't do that either."

Micah sighed, and reached for a fresh sheet of paper, and wrote all the date ideas out again, including painting. Eli was annoyed, but didn't say anything. Micah could meddle all he liked. It just wasn't going to happen. Eli wasn't that person anymore. He hadn't done anything creative in more than a year.

Once he had finished rewriting their ideas from before, Micah looked up and asked, "We need one more. What else?"

"Laser tag."

Eli rolled his eyes at Jay. "Think less eight year old's birthday party, please."

"Mini-golf?"

"Still eight year old's birthday party, but whatever. Put it down. Jade likes golf, and that's the best she'll get from me."

Micah laughed. "Not even remotely close, but okay." He wrote it down anyway. "And how do you want to do groups? Jade with mini-golf, right?"

Eli nodded. "Yeah. Lennox, Isla, Violet, Wilhelmina, and Cassandra with painting, Brielle, Thea, Elaine, Marlee, and Nefertiti with karaoke. Flo can go to the zoo. Zenya, Addie, Lydie, Gemma, and Cali can be the beach group. Lena, Ixchel, Jade, Yunuen and Liath can be mini-golf."

Micah wrote most of it down, but then shook his head. "You're nuts if you put the twins together. That's a recipe for trouble."

Eli groaned. "Damn it, you're right. Fine. Send Yunuen to the zoo, Nefertiti mini-golfing, and Flo with karaoke. There, is that better?"

"Yeah, that works. I think. I have no idea if anyone else hates each other."

"God, this might be a total disaster." Eli sighed.

"What's new? Everything is always a total disaster for you."

"Shut up." There was a knock on the door, and Eli heard Matthias answering it. Then he heard his father's voice outside the door. Shit. He was suddenly even more glad he had wadded up and thrown out the paper he had done the writing on.

His father stepped into the room, with a judgemental look at Jay's tattoos. Micah carefully pulled his sleeves down, which had been rolled up, in order to hide the marks from needle after needle over the years.

Eli shot him a look that clearly read, 'Get out of here,' and Micah immediately stood up, set the list on Eli's desk, put a hand on Jay's shoulder and pushed slightly so he would get the message that it was time to go.

They made their way out of the room, leaving Eli alone with his father. Dad reached out and pulled the hair tie out of Eli's hair. "You just need to cut that mess already."

Eli didn't respond, just ran his fingers through his hair self-consciously then held out a hand to get the hair tie back.

Dad dropped the hair tie in Eli's outstretched hand, and Eli set it aside on his desk. Dad turned away, and took a look at the list of group dates, which was still sitting out. "I see you've been making plans."

"Yeah." Thank God he had pitched the list he had been doodling on. He didn't need Dad's judgement for that too.

"That's good. I'm glad you're taking this process seriously. I was starting to think that you really were as gay as you look."

Eli was tempted to laugh and tell him that if he thought Eli looked gay he should get out more often, but it just wasn't worth it.

He turned away from the paper on the desk, back towards Eli. "Is that really what you sleep in?"

Eli looked down at his clothes. A worn t-shirt from a concert he had attended in college and sweatpants. Nothing out of the ordinary. "Yeah. What's wrong with it?" He pulled slightly at the collar of his t-shirt.

"You look homeless."

Old Eli would have said, 'Thanks, that's what I was going for.' But Eli wasn't him anymore, so he just mumbled something that sounded vaguely like agreement, and waited for Dad to continue, to find something else to criticize.

"It's not very fitting for the crown prince to look like he would fit better sleeping on the streets like a lazy eight."

Unless a photographer broke into his bedroom at four in the morning, chances of someone seeing him wearing anything like this were slim. But he didn't say that, just nodded.

"Did you just get out of bed? When I gave you the morning off I meant for you to be getting ready for the twin's birthday party, not lazing around with your friends."

"I woke up a while ago, and Micah and Jay and I were working on date ideas." Eli gestured towards the paper on the desk. "You saw our list." He technically hadn't been awake for that long but whatever. That was just unnecessary details.

"Huh. Well, you'd better be dressed _properly_ by eleven. And don't forget about the things you need to sign off on by this evening. There's a stack for you in your office. If you can get that done, maybe I won't have to be so ashamed that a son of a bitch like you had to be the first born." He turned and left the room, leaving Eli alone.

As soon as the door closed, Eli flopped back on the bed, closing his eyes and waiting for Micah and Jay to come back. It didn't think them long to come back. Jay returned to his seat in Eli's desk chair, and Micah laid down next to him on the bed. "You good?" Micah asked.

"It shouldn't bother me." It really shouldn't. He should be used to hearing that he dressed wrong, talked wrong, was lazy and worthless and should have been the youngest son. He thought it all the time himself, he had been hearing it all his life, why did it still sting? It didn't even make any sense.

Micah sighed, but didn't say anything. Eli knew that Micah knew exactly how he felt, so Micah didn't need to say anything to tell Eli that he understood. That maybe someday it would finally stop hurting. For both of them.

Eli wished that day would hurry the fuck up.

Eli spent some time laying back, staring up at the ceiling, while Micah tried to get him involved in other future plans for the Selection. He had been giving the Selection the best shot he had in him, but he still hated that he had to do it at all. All he wanted was her.

She should be here with him today.

* * *

_The King's Quarters, The Palace, Angeles, A Day That Never Happened_

_Elijah_

Eli woke up to hair in his mouth. He tried to bring his hand up to his mouth to remove the hair, but found there was something heavy and warm on top of his arm. He opened his eyes, blinking sleepily against the morning light, smiling faintly as he spotted Isabelle, her long dark hair making a stark contrast against the pure white of the pillow.

She stirred next to him, turning over to face him. "Good morning, babe." She smiled slightly at him, and reached up to tuck a strand of his hair behind his ear. "Sleep okay?"

He shook his head. "You know I never do."

She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, engagement ring and wedding band clear on her left hand as she lifted it. "Guess I need to do a better job of wearing you out first," she said teasingly. "We don't have shit to do this morning, you can go back to sleep."

She didn't have to tell him twice. He closed his eyes again, moving in closer to her as she slowly ran her fingers through his hair. It didn't take him long to fall asleep again.

If only reality could have turned out so perfect.

* * *

_Beach House, Sonage, Another Day That Never Happened_

_Elijah_

The waves crashed gently on the beach as they walked together, hand in hand, leaving footprints in the damp sand behind them. They stopped farther down the beach, and together they stared out at the rising sun, which made streaks of orange and pink across the purple sky.

They stood there for a moment in silence, until Isabelle turned to him and asked, "Do you ever regret it?"

"Sometimes. I think sometimes about what I could have done. What I could have changed."

She squeezed his hand slightly. "Jenn will do a good job."

"She will," he agreed. "A better job than I would have ever done."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." She turned and leaned in to kiss her. "I think you would have done a good job. Might have destroyed you, but you would have done a good job."

"You're happier this way, be honest." He smiled slightly at her, resting his forehead against hers.

"I am. But so are you, be honest."

"You're right. You're always right."

She laughed, and shoved him slightly, sending him staggering into the shallow water. "You'd better remember that."

He grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the water too. "You're terrible."

"Better believe it." She bent down in an attempt to splash him, and he took the opportunity to scoop her up. She squealed as he carried her out to deeper water and dumped her in so she would get completely wet.

She came up spluttering, wet hair plastered against her face and neck, and Eli made a mental note to put the scene down in ink on paper later. "Fuck you, you got my watch wet." She held up her wrist, which had a smartwatch on it.

Eli just laughed. "You should have thought of that before you pushed me into the water. You can put it in rice when we get home, it'll be fine." He leaned in to kiss her, brushing a strand of her wet hair out of the way.

She rolled her eyes. "You asshole, your hair's not even wet." A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed her face, and she deepened the kiss, putting one hand on the back of Eli's head to hold it in place. Then she ducked down under the water, pulling him down with her.

Eli hadn't expected it, even though really he should have, so when they came back up he just laughed and kissed her again, reaching for her hand. "I guess I deserved that."

She nodded, smiling. "You so deserved that." She started heading for shore, and he followed, still holding on to her hand. When they were back up on the beach she pulled her hand free of hers and wrang some of the water out of her hair, before pushing it back out of her face. Eli took a moment to appreciate just how pretty she was. She was short and slim, but muscular, and Eli knew she could take his ass down if she really wanted to. When they play-fought and he won, it was because she let him. She wore a tank top that exposed a collection of tattoos up and down both arms, across her shoulders, and up the back of her neck, and he knew there were more on her thighs, which were covered by her leggings. The mostly black ink stood out against her tan skin. She was one of his favorite subjects to draw. He had dozens of sketches of her scattered around the house.

She turned back towards him, grinning mischievously. "And what the fuck are you looking at?"

"You," he said, grinning back.

She took a step closer. "Any thoughts you want to share?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"I was actually thinking about drawing you."

She laughed, shaking her head fondly. "Why did I ever marry an artist? I think he's checking me out, but nope, just wants to draw me."

"You married me because I'm awesome."

"Oh yeah, there's that." She took off sprinting through the sand. "Race you back to the house."

"Hey, no fair." He started running after her, but there was no chance he would ever catch her. She ran several miles almost every morning for fun, she was faster than he would ever be.

Sure enough, she beat him to their back door, which faced the beach, easily enough. She waited there for him, since he had the key. He unlocked the door, and held it open for her to step inside after him. "I made it in the house first, did I win?"

"I said back to the house, not in the house." She shook her head at him. "You're such a cheater."

"You got a head start, and you run every morning. Is that not cheating?"

"Oh, you're right, I suppose." She sighed playfully. "I suppose you can have this one. Not like it matters, though." She placed her hands on his shoulders, and gently pushed him up against the wall, tilting her head upward to press her lips against his jaw. "The winner and the loser both get what they want."

* * *

_The Gardens, The Palace, Angeles, July 29th, 11:00am_

_Elijah_

There had never been a chance Eli would be late for this, even before his father had come in. By eleven o'clock exactly, he was in the part of the gardens where the twins' birthday party was being held.

Dad was already there, making small talk with the twins' father. Eli avoided the two of them. He didn't need to see Dad again, and meeting the father of two of the Selected so early on was the last thing he wanted to do.

He made his way over to Ixchel first, who was chatting with Nefertiti. "Happy birthday, Lady Ixchel," he said.

As he approached, Nefertiti turned away and went to talk to Lennox, who was sitting alone at a nearby table writing in a notebook. She probably wanted to give one of the birthday girls her moment in the spotlight. That was nice of her.

"Thank you." She nodded slightly at him, smiling a smile that was about as genuine as his usual smiles. Except she was worse at hiding it.

Eli made a small gesture towards Micah, who was with Gemma and Thea, and upon seeing it, he came over and passed Eli a small rectangular package done up in pale green paper. Eli handed it to Ixchel. "Here. For your birthday. Don't let your sister see, I didn't know what to get her so I went with jewelry. And I felt like I had to get you the same thing to make it even, but I wanted to give you this too."

She tore the paper off to find a copy of a history book about Mexico, the country that was once where Paloma was currently. "Oh, thank you." She flipped through it slowly, skimming the pages. She closed the book, and reached up to rearrange her hair. "How are things going for you right now?" She asked.

"About as well as they could be."

"I'm sorry if this isn't something I should ask, but what's it like to be in your position? I'm just curious. I have been studying law for quite some time now."

Eli hesitated for a moment, trying to decide just how honest to be. Did he tell her the truth? An idealized version of the truth? A straight up lie? Did he tell a joke about it? A joke probably wasn't the best idea, he knew she was most likely fairly politically aware and probably had a lot of thoughts about him and his reputation. Especially given the fact that her background check had said that she was partially raised by her mother, who was a six. "It's a balancing act," he finally said.

"A balancing act? What does that mean?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and taking a sip of her drink.

"There's never a moment when everyone is happy with what you're doing," he said carefully. That much was certainly the truth. Do something for the people and the corporations who had too much of the government in their back pocket would cry murder, maintain the status quo and the people get restless. Dad liked to play the game of making insignificant changes to shut them up, and Eli hated it.

It hadn't been so long ago that Eli had been determined that he was going to make real change in the world someday. He still was determined. The only problem was that he wasn't really sure that someday was ever coming anymore. He felt more and more powerless every day.

Ixchel nodded. "I suppose you can't please them all. You don't have to answer this either, but how involved are you in the government directly?"

In reality he spent most of his time on busywork, doing things that could easily be delegated, as part of Dad's strategy to make sure Eli stayed in line, but he wasn't about to tell Ixchel that. It was a constant whirl of meetings and deadlines and trying not to bang his head against a wall when stupid decisions were made and he didn't even get a say.

He went with a joke. "I'll get two weeks of vacation after I get married, and that'll be the first and only pure vacation I'll ever take as an adult, if that tells you anything." That wasn't technically true, he had taken more than one spring break trip as a college student, but close enough. He smiled slightly, to make it clear that that was intended to be funny. It wasn't funny to him, because it was all too true to be funny. There was always something he ought to be doing. He got a lot of leeway because of the Selection, but as soon as it was over, he'd be lucky to get another moment to breath, until he was king. By then, either Dad would have succeeded in breaking him, or he would have his work cut out for him trying to actually change anything.

One of those outcomes was looking all too likely from where Eli stood, and he hated it.

Before Ixchel could respond, Adrienne appeared next to him, a glass of champagne in each hand. "Hello, Eli, Lady Ixchel. Happy birthday." She held one glass out towards Eli.

"Thank you…" Ixchel trailed off, as if waiting for someone to give her Adrienne's name.

He accepted the glass of champagne from Adrienne, but didn't drink. "Lady Ixchel, this is Princess Adrienne, from France."

"Oh. It's nice to meet you, your highness."

Adrienne rolled her eyes, and finished her own glass of champagne. "Don't bother with that bullshit, I'm ninth in line, after all. I might as well not be royalty." She turned to Eli. "Are you going to drink that, or can I have that back?"

He shook his head, and passed it back over. It was really too early for alcohol, so he was happy to let her have it. "It's eleven in the morning, not eleven at night," he said teasingly.

She looked at the glass in her hand for a moment, then abandoned it on a nearby table. "You're right. When did you get responsible?"

"Not all of us are as lucky as you are, Adri."

"You didn't have any problem drinking this weekend, " she pointed out.

Eli rested a hand on his arm. "Not now, okay? Go find Zach."

She nodded, and headed off. Eli turned back to Ixchel, suddenly realizing that if she had changed her opinion of him even a little before Adrienne had showed up, it had been shattered again. "She's something else, isn't she?"

"I guess so," she agreed.

Eli nodded, glancing around at the other people gathered for the party. "I'd better go wish Yunuen a happy birthday too."

Ixchel nodded. "Of course." She headed off into the crowd again, and Eli did the same, but headed in the opposite direction, looking for Yunuen.

On his way to find her, he ran into Cassandra, who was staring at a glass of champagne that she was holding. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked as he came up next to her.

"Oh, yes. Of course." She hastily set the glass aside, and smiled at him. "How have you been? We haven't seen much of you since the ball."

He had spent every free moment either missing Isabelle like hell or trying to ensure that Micah didn't do anything else stupid, so he hadn't felt like dedicating himself to spending more time with the Selected than was required of him. But that had to change before someone started getting on his ass about it, he knew. "Some things have come up that have demanded my attention." He would let her believe that it was government business. That was for the best.

Most likely, not even the woman he would marry would know anything about what he really felt about most things. And that too was for the best. To talk to someone else the way he had talked to Isabelle would be a betrayal, he felt, even though he knew she was dead and didn't give a shit what he was doing with his life now.

Probably, she would want him to move on, to find someone else he could trust. But how could he do that? She was the only girl he could have imagined a life with, a future with.

She had been everything. She had kept him going. She had been incredible. And now she was gone.

Somehow he had managed to keep on going, but life was never going to be the same as it had been with her. There would never be another Isabelle.

Cassandra nodded, and said, "That's understandable," interrupting Eli's thoughts. He returned his attention to her, even though all he really wanted to do was be by himself. To lock himself away and not have to pretend for his father, for the Selected, and for the cameras. It was probably for the best that he wasn't alone, really. Probably for the best that he wasn't allowed to get too deep in his own thoughts.

But just because it was for the best didn't mean he had to like it.

He heard the sound of a camera going off nearby, and remembered just in time that he needed to keep up his smile. It wouldn't do to be photographed with anything less than a smile when around the Selected.

It was also a reminder that he did need to find the other birthday girl quickly. He made an excuse to Cassandra, and moved on, determined to find Yunuen so there would be pictures. It wouldn't be good if it looked as if he was favoring one sister over the other. People had already noticed that he hadn't danced with Yunuen at the ball, and there was nothing he could do about that now, but he could at least try to do a better job of being more equal with his time in the future.

He spotted Yunuen, and started heading in her direction, but before he could reach her, a servant pulled him aside. "Your father wants to see you."

"Can't it wait a minute? I was just about to say happy birthday to Yunuen."

The servant shook his head. "He says you need to come right away."

Eli sighed, and left the party as instructed. It wasn't worth arguing, but he was annoyed. Did Dad want him to take the Selection seriously or not?

He headed upstairs to a meeting room, where Dad, Director Burns, General Ellis, Councilor White, General Middleton, General Allen, and Father Walsh had gathered. Shit. That was not a good combination. The king, the director of intelligence, all three of the council members responsible for defense and the military, and the council's religious advisor. What the fuck had happened?

He took a seat at the table, and watched as Director Burns stood up and began to speak. "For those of you who aren't aware, I received word this morning that Kendall Gibbs, the recently-eliminated Selected from Dominica, was found dead in her bedroom. Rebel involvement is highly suspected. Words were found written on the walls suggesting that this killing was motivated by a desire to see the royal family fall." She set a file folder down in the center of the table.

Eli knew he shouldn't look, but he did anyway. It was his fault. They had killed her because she had signed up to date him. That meant it was only right that he look.

Kendall's body was almost unrecognizable in the pictures, thanks to her injuries. Eli had never been one to be squeamish about blood, but this was on a whole different level. He closed the file and set it back down, feeling sick. He couldn't bring himself to pay attention as the others in the room talked about the press and what to do about the rebels, lost in thought about too many things.

The Selection wasn't supposed to play out like this. Eli wasn't supposed to end up with bodies on his conscience. There was no doubt in his mind that he was responsible for what had happened, and it could never happen again.

Suddenly every eye in the room turned to him, and Eli realized that they were expecting him to answer a question. "Sorry, can you repeat that?"

Annoyance was clear across Dad's face as he said, "The Selected. What do you want to tell them? I thought I'd ask your opinion, since this is your Selection and you ought to have an opinion."

Eli stood up abruptly. "It doesn't matter, because it's over. I'm not doing this anymore." He walked out of the meeting room, not waiting for anyone to argue with him.

As he walked out of the meeting room, he realized that that was the first time he had made a direct attempt to go against his father's wishes in more than a year. He felt as if some of the numbness that had been his life for the past year had been washed away by the blood that was now on his hands.

Something had to change.

* * *

**AN: So that just happened. Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think of this chapter!**

**I'm sorry this one was a little shorter than my most recent chapters have been. I had another scene that it was supposed to end on but I decided to move it to Chapter 19 because this made a better ending point for the chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

_The Gardens, The Palace, Angeles, July 29th, 12:03pm_

_Yunuen Hamilton, 3, Tammins_

There were a lot of things that Yunuen hated about being a twin, and having to share a birthday was one of them. The one day a year that nobody could deny that it ought to be about her, and she had to share it with her perfect sister, and today all the other Selected.

As usual, Eli had sought out Ixchel first, then had talked to Cassandra for a while. Yunuen wished she had worn a more elaborate dress, in order to match up to Cassandra better. She had thought the white dress with a high slit, exposing much of her leg, would be good enough, but Cassandra seemed clearly determined to upstage her. At least Ixchel's dress was boring. She wouldn't be able to stand it if Ixchel somehow was better dressed than her.

Yunuen had expected that Prince Elijah would take the time to seek her out next, but instead he had seemingly disappeared from the party without saying happy birthday. She looked around for him again, but didn't spot him. Jenn and Ixchel were chatting nearby, and even though Yunuen wasn't Jenn's biggest fan, she was still jealous. Of course Ixchel got all the royal attention. Everyone always thought Ixchel was so much better.

She wanted to scowl, but instead kept a friendly smile on her face and reached for a glass of champagne. As she did, Jay approached from across the garden. "Hey, Yunuen. Happy birthday."

At least someone was paying attention to her. "Thank you. Have you seen Prince Elijah anywhere?"

"Nope, I have no idea where he's gone. Your best bet is probably to ask Micah, he usually keeps tabs on Eli. Or Eli keeps tabs on him. Or something. I'm not sure." He seemed to be having trouble looking her in the eyes, which had been the goal. Finally someone bought it. Eli wouldn't look anywhere but at her face, and it was downright annoying. How could she seduce someone who didn't seem to notice or care what she looked like? "Anyway, do you want to go on a walk? I have a birthday present for you."

She raised her eyebrows, curious. A birthday present? She had technically received one from Prince Elijah, a silver bracelet with only superficial differences from the one her sister had received, and that had stung. "What is it?" She asked curiously, smiling slightly and reaching out for his arm in an obvious cue that she would walk with him.

He awkwardly took her arm and led her through the gardens. They stopped in a secluded area of the garden, surrounded by hedges and the famed palace rose bushes.

He fished around in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out a plain white cardboard box with a red ribbon tied around it. She untied the ribbon, expecting to find expensive jewelry inside.

But instead what she found was a bracelet made up of braided leather cord, similar to the ones Jay wore. She looked up at him, trying not to let the disappointment show on her face.

Jay was smiling at her, though. "I made it for you," he said nervously.

She took another look at the box. He had made it for her. That meant this was unique. She had the only one of this particular bracelet there would ever be. Someone had gone to the effort to make her something. Someone had done something special for her, for her birthday.

"Thank you." She lifted the bracelet from the box, and tied it on her wrist before unclasping the much more expensive bracelet Prince Elijah had given her and dropping it into the box. She put the lid back on and handed it to Jay, smiling back.

He took the box, and held it for a moment. "Don't you want your birthday present from Eli?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Because it wasn't a real present. It might have been simple and cheap, but Jay had given her a real present. She didn't say that, though, just held her arm out to him. "Walk me back to the party, will you?"

* * *

_Upstairs Corridor, The Palace, Angeles, July 29th, 3:08pm_

_Elijah_

Several hours had passed since Eli had told Dad he was done with the Selection and walked out of the meeting room. In that time he had changed clothes and vanished into the dusty back corridors of the palace, hoping to avoid Dad's wrath for as long as possible. He wasn't ready to deal with the fallout of his decision, and anyway he wanted to be alone.

Thanks to years of childhood exploration, he knew plenty of spots where he was unlikely to be found, and he had settled in on the floor of a corridor where almost no one ever went. He had put in his earbuds, hit play on the loudest, angriest music he could find, turned the volume up to drown out the world, and closed his eyes.

There were days when he just wanted the whole world to stop so he could breath, and today was one of them.

He had had a lot of those days lately.

He stayed like that for a while, until he heard something that sounded vaguely like someone trying to talk to him. Expecting Jenn, he didn't bother to open his eyes, just pulled out one earbud and said, "The fuck you want? I came here to be left the fuck alone, fuck off."

"I didn't really want anything, I was just curious what you were listening to. I'll go."

That was definitely not Jenn. He immediately opened his eyes to see Liath standing there. "Ah, shit, sorry, I thought you were my sister. I wouldn't have been so rude if I knew it was you."

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything other than, "It's alright. I'll go."

If he squinted, she looked sort of like Isabelle. Well, the hair color was right. Really, Ixchel or Yunuen would make a better Isabelle stand-in, but Liath was here. "No, don't go." He held out an earbud towards her. "You wanted to know what I'm listening to?"

She nodded, and sat down next to him, making sure not to sit too close. He wished she would sit closer. It would improve the illusion. She took the earbud and slid it into her ear, raising her eyebrows as she started hearing the music that was playing. "You have decent taste."

"Thanks?" He closed his eyes again, leaning back so his head was resting against the wall.

They stayed like that for a few songs, not talking. After a while, Liath said, "Where did you go? You disappeared from the party."

"Yeah. Things happened." He kept his eyes closed, and gave in to the temptation to tell her everything, as if she was really Isabelle. "She's dead. The girl from Dominica. Kendall. Murdered. I looked at the pictures like an idiot and now I can't get it out of my fucking head. I'm done. I just want this to all be over. Everyone goes home, no more blood on my hands. It's because of me Kendall's blood is all over the floor. I'm to blame. Her only crime is being Selected, and the only reason there's a Selection is because of me. I can't let it happen again." He finally opened his eyes, and looked over at Liath, who was staring at him as if she was shocked by the sudden outpouring of emotions. He couldn't blame her. He was shocked too. "Nevermind… Just… Forget I said any of that. Please?"

She nodded, and turned away. "Done." She pulled the earbud out of her ear and handed it back before standing up. "Good luck."

Eli didn't respond, just put the earbud back in his own ear and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes again. If he could just not exist for a little bit, that would be spectacular.

* * *

_The King's Office, The Palace, Angeles, July 29th, 2:01pm_

_Jenn_

Jenn had known this day was coming for a long time. Eli wasn't somebody you could control easily. Eli wouldn't be destroyed easily.

There had been a few months where she had thought that Dad had succeeded. But today's events had proven her very very wrong. Eli still had a little bit of fight left in him. She had never been prouder of her older brother. Even if he was an idiot.

"—Somebody needs to talk him out of this hairbrained bullshit of his. He thinks he can call off the Selection just like that? That's not going to happen. Who does he think he is? He has responsibilities, and the Selection is just what we need right now." Dad slammed his palm down on his desk. "Jenevieve! Go find your brother. Get him back in here." He turned away, making it obvious she was dismissed, and muttered something about how Eli was an irresponsible little shithead.

Jenn was more than used to the way he talked about Eli, and, if she didn't do a good enough job keeping her head down and being a model daughter, her. So she didn't let it faze her.

She turned and left the room, trying to figure out where Eli might have gone. The palace was a big building, and he might have even left already. But she had to do her best. The less attention she attracted, the better.

After a couple of hours of searching, Jenn finally found him, hidden away in an upper floor corridor, head resting against the wall, earbuds in. She bent down and plucked one of them out of his ear, and he immediately opened his eyes. "Oh, it is you this time. Fuck off."

She sat down next to him. "Is that any way to speak to your favorite sister?"

"Mel is my favorite sister," he mumbled, closing his eyes again. "Fuck off."

"Rude." She was silent for a while, before saying, "Dad is pissed."

"What's new?"

"He told me to find you."

"Doesn't matter. I'm done." His voice was hollow. He sounded tired. Defeated. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe that had been the very last bit of fight that was left in Eli.

There was one card she could play. It would be a dirty trick, but necessary. "You're not the only person who will have to face the consequences of your actions, Eli. If you run, someone else is going to take what's coming."

He swallowed, and rested his head back against the wall again, but Jenn knew she was getting through to him. Eventually, he turned off the music, shoved his phone and earbuds in his pocket, and stood up. "Alright. Fuck off, Jenn. I mean it." He headed down the stairs, in the direction of Dad's office.

Jenn followed, despite his instructions. She wasn't a child anymore. She didn't need Eli's protection from the harsh reality of just who their father was.

She stepped into the office a moment after Eli did, and closed the door quietly behind her.

Upon seeing them enter, Dad stood, and stepped forward so he was in Eli's face. "Just _what_ do you think you're doing, son?" He asked in a cold tone. "You are the crown prince. You have responsibilities. You can't quit doing things that are beneficial to the country just because one person dies, do you understand me?"

Eli nodded. "I understand."

"There is such a thing as acceptable losses. In fact, it's one of the best things that could have happened. What's better than the death of one of the nation's Selected sweethearts to motivate them to hate the rebels?" Dad went back to his seat behind the desk, and gestured for Eli and Jenn to sit down. "The council has decided that we'll air a statement this afternoon. The Selection will go on. There will be consequences for your behavior this afternoon after the statement is aired. And if there is ever a repeat, they will be worse." He waved a hand in dismissal. "Go prepare. Black clothes, both of you."

* * *

_Lydie's Room, The Selected's Wing, The Palace, Angeles, July 29th, 4:38pm_

_Lydie Tyler, 4, Belcourt_

Lydie pulled at the sleeves of the long black dress she was wearing. Until today, she had no idea that all of the Selected had identical black dresses in their wardrobes, for occasions like this. The thought was far from pleasant.

The rebellion had killed someone. Intellectually she had known it had happened before this in Dominica. But this time it was someone she knew. She hadn't been close with Kendall, but she had joined in on card games every once in a while. And now she was dead, because of the rebellion.

She had known for a long time that rebellion would probably mean deaths. She tried not to think too much about what was in those crates she flew back and forth, but she had a bad feeling that the answer was weapons. Things that would someday be used to kill people.

Someday someone might die because of what she had done.

She tried to banish that horribly unpleasant thought as her maids finished up her makeup and hair. Going under the harsh lights of the report meant that she had to have makeup practically caked on to her face, which she wasn't a fan of, but she had to admit the necessity of it. Her maids didn't talk as they worked, even though Lydie usually made a point of chatting and gossiping with them while they worked.

She supposed that after what had just happened nobody really wanted lighthearted conversation.

They finished, and Lydie joined the other Selected who were gathered in the hallway. They waited in silence, without the usual hum of chatter that had preceded the report on Friday. Lydie stood in between Thea and Cali, with Addie in front of her, but they didn't talk as they would have under normal circumstances.

Lindsey came into the room. "Alright, ladies. The broadcast this afternoon is going to be a little bit different than the usual one. For one thing, it won't be a full report. And we'll have assigned seats as well. Please sit in the seat assigned to you, and do not switch with another Selected. Understood?"

They all nodded, and followed Lindsey down to the basement and filed into the studio. Instead of the now typical five rows of five, there were five rows of seven chairs, like there had been on the first night, with one missing. Once all the Selected were seated, Lydie understood why. That was Kendall's seat, and it was gone because she was dead.

The royal family came into the room a few moments later, and took their seats. Queen Melissa on the King's left, Eli on his right, then Jenn, Charles, and Mel. Eli looked the most outwardly emotional she had ever seen him in the weeks she had been at the palace. He was clearly rattled, and not bothering to hide it.

The rest of the family looked subdued, but calm. Even Mel, who was usually impossible to contain leading up to the report, was still.

A tech started counting off, and Eli took his place at the podium set in the center of the stage. He took a deep breath, and his face changed, into an expression of grave calm. The 'on air' light on the back wall of the studio came on, and the text on the teleprompter appeared. That was the first time she had seen a member of the royal family use one in her weeks at the palace, and she watched it curiously.

Eli began speaking. "A tragedy has occurred in Illéa today. I'm sure many of you know of Lady Kendall Gibbs, who was eliminated from my Selection last week. Unfortunately, upon returning to her home in Dominica, she was brutally murdered by a rebel group in her home province. It is believed that she was targeted because of her involvement in my Selection."

"This is unacceptable."

The teleprompter continued, with the words '_the people responsible for this must be brought to justice.'_

"Something like this can never be allowed to happen again." He was off script, and Lydie was suddenly reminded of their conversation at the ball. If there was anything worth fighting for, it was to prevent the deaths of innocent people. "We will be looking into increasing security for the Selected after they are eliminated, and I will not be eliminating anyone else until changes can be made and a plan is in place to implement security."

That wasn't exactly what Lydie had expected. She had expected that he would condemn the rebels in some way. Say something against them other than a weak statement about bringing those responsible to justice. Maybe something about an action taken for innocent people other than the Selected.

He continued on, getting back to the script to close out the statement, and Lydie was left slightly dissatisfied with what he had said. Surely he could do more.

Once again, she thought back to the ball, when he had explicitly told her that he couldn't do more. He had done what he could, and it wasn't fair to fault him for that.

Eli finished his statement, and the 'on air' light at the back of the room went off. As soon as it did, King William stood up, and approached him. He put a hand on his shoulder, and pulled him off to one side. King William said some hushed words, then left the studio, the door closing behind him.

Eli closed his eyes briefly, and ran a hand through his hair, letting the mask fall again, before going to follow.

Lydie hesitated for a minute, watching as the techs began to shut all the equipment down, before standing up and following. "Hey," she called out to catch his attention.

He turned around at the sound of her voice. "Hey."

She took a few steps closer, and saw that he had washed off the stage makeup, leaving horrible dark circles visible around his eyes. "You look tired."

"Yeah." He sounded tired too. "You alright?"

She half thought she ought to be the one to ask that question. He was the one who had to deal with the fallout of this, after all. "I'm fine," she lied. She couldn't say a word about what was really going through her head without getting her family in serious trouble. "What about you?"

He sighed. "I've been better." A strand of his hair fell into his face, and he reached up to tuck it back out of the way.

"Murder does have a tendency to ruin your day," she said without thinking, then realized too late that the last thing he wanted was someone trying to make light of the situation.

She was trying to figure out some way to take it back when he started laughing hysterically, even though it hadn't really been that funny. "I guess. Must suck for Yunuen and Ixchel."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Yunuen was pretty upset that you just disappeared from the party. She might be over it after finding out what happened, though."

He nodded. "I figured she would be." He sighed again. "I'd better get going. Things to do still." He turned around, as if he was about to walk away, but then turned back. "Why don't you walk with me?"

"Sure." She came up beside him, and instead of taking his outstretched arm, grabbed his hand. He didn't complain, though, so she held it as they walked together through the palace.

As they walked, his mood visibly changed, back to the mask he put on for the cameras, even though there was no one there other than Lydie.

They went through areas she didn't recognize, into a wing she definitely wasn't allowed to be in. She couldn't stifle the thought that it was a wing her family would definitely want her to be in.

He stopped at the end of a corridor, and said, "You'd better head back to your room now." He gestured towards a nearby guard. "Escort Lady Lydie back to her room, please." He pulled his hand free of hers, and turned the corner, heading down another corridor.

She was surprised by the stark dismissal, but didn't complain. There was likely a reason for it, after all. She let the guard lead her back to her room, taking care to memorize the turns they were taking. She doubted she would be able to avoid her family forever, and she needed something, or they would be disappointed in her.

* * *

_The Prince's Quarters, The Palace, Angeles, July 29th, 6:53pm_

_Elijah_

Eli laid down on his bed without even bothering to kick his shoes off. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew that wasn't going to be an option for a while yet. He knew already that he wasn't going to be able to get his father's words out of his head.

"_Clearly personal consequences aren't motivating enough for you," he had said, gripping Eli's wrist hard enough that Eli knew it would leave a bruise. He had really messed up, and he knew it. Dad didn't usually like physical violence. "How about next time you fuck up someone else takes the consequences? Think you'll stay in line then?" He released Eli's wrist. "Consider this your last warning."_

When it was just consequences for him, Eli didn't have a problem doing things he knew would draw Dad's wrath. But if someone else was going to be on the brunt end of Dad's tirades, then Eli was going to have to play much much more carefully.

He rotated his wrist, looking at the quickly growing bruise on it. He could move it just fine, so it was probably fine other than the bruise, which was starting to ache.

Eventually, he forced himself to sit up and started untying his shoes, trying to use his left hand as little as possible.

He finished taking his shoes off, and stood up, shrugging off his suit jacket and dumping it on the foot of his bed. He undid his tie and placed it next to the jacket, then headed for the bathroom to take a shower, unbuttoning the buttons of his shirt as he went.

After he showered, he felt slightly better. More relaxed. Not as tired. The dark circles remained, but there wasn't anything he could do about that other than get more sleep.

He headed back into the room, and found Matthias tidying up. "Can you get me some ice for my wrist? And something to drink?" He grabbed a sweatshirt from the closet and pulled it over his head, then rearranged his damp hair.

"Of course." Matthias left the room, and Eli sat down in his desk chair to wait.

Matthias came back with an ice pack, a plate of food, and a mug of some steaming liquid. Eli had meant alcohol when he had asked for a drink, but he guessed coffee was good too.

"I didn't ask for food," Eli said, reaching out to accept the things Matthias had brought anyway.

"Have you eaten at all today?"

"A granola bar." He rolled up his left sleeve, and rested his bruised wrist against the ice pack.

"You need to eat, Elijah."

"I'm your boss, you're supposed to listen to me, not make me do things," he complained, taking a sip blindly out of the mug. "Hey, this isn't coffee." It was hot chocolate, which wasn't unpleasant, but coffee would have been so much better.

"I'm also supposed to protect you…"

"Which means protecting me from myself. I got it." He took a bite of the food. "Are you happy now? I'm eating. Bring me an actual cup of coffee and I'll eat more."

"Very. But don't you want to sleep? Caffeine isn't helping anything."

"Fine, make it decaf if that makes you happy." He passed him the mug of hot chocolate, and turned back to the food. He took a couple more bites, then accepted the mug of coffee from Matthias when he returned. "Thanks. Take the rest of the evening off, okay? I don't need anything else."

Matthias nodded. "Alright. Have a good night."

Eli nodded, and took another bite. He leaned back in his chair for a while, eyes closed, until he heard his phone chime with a text message. He opened his eyes and leaned over to take a look, and smiled at the sight of Zenya's name on the screen. He immediately unlocked his phone to read her text and reply.

Zenya: How are you?

Eli: I'm fine. How about you?

Zenya: I'm alright.

For a moment, he was about to just leave it like that and set his phone down, since it was awkward to text one handed, but on a whim he decided that it might be nice to have some company.

Eli: Do you watch movies?

Zenya: With subtitles yes.

Zenya: Some of us are planning to watch one tonight though.

Zenya: You could join if you want. We are in the movie theater in the basement.

He thought about it for a moment, before deciding that he might as well.

Eli: I'll be there. Don't start without me, it'll be a minute because I'm going to find a real cup of coffee.

He stood up, sliding his phone into his pocket, and rolled down his sleeve to cover up the bruise on his wrist. It looked like he would be wearing long sleeves for a while, and rolling them up wasn't going to be an option.

He headed out the door of his room, and made his way down to the kitchen to sweet talk a cup of coffee off of whoever was working.

Once he had gotten a cup of coffee, he headed down to the basement. He heard the sound of conversation coming from the movie theater, and pushed open the door to find some of the girls scattered around on the black leather couches throughout the room. The floor of the theater had tiers, like a normal movie theater, and each tier had a few couches on it.

Lydie, Thea, Ixchel, and Elaine were in the first row, Brielle, Addie, and Gemma were in the middle row, and Cali, Isla, Thea and Zenya were in the back row.

Eli sat down in the back row, in between Cali and Isla. He waved to Zenya, who smiled, and waved back.

Cali turned to look at him as he sat down, raising her eyebrows. "Coffee at seven o'clock at night? That's not good for you, you know, and it's not going to help you sleep."

"Yeah, I know. Caffeine will keep me from getting a headache, though, so the tradeoffs are worth it." He changed the subject, not wanting to talk about how unhealthy his habits were anymore. "Do you know what movie we're watching?"

"Something about a plane crash. It was Lydie's pick."

"Really?" He asked, surprised. He'd have to ask Lydie about that some other time. Why would a pilot pick a movie about plane crashes? Eli himself deliberately avoided movies that involved too much politics, he would assume that most people would also avoid movies that reminded them of work.

"Yeah. I voted for a horror movie, but I was overruled by the birthday girl."

"Oh, I like horror movies too, we'll have to watch one together sometimes. I have just one question. Really awful B-movies, or actually scary?" He took a sip of his coffee.

"Both." She pulled at the sleeves of the oversized sweater she was wearing, and tucked a strand of her long black hair that had fallen out of her messy bun back in. "I like to be scared, but I'm down to laugh at some good fake blood sometimes. What about you?"

"I agree." He turned to Isla. "What about you? What was your vote?"

"Oh, I voted for some really pretentious movie that's in French. For some reason, nobody voted my way." She laughed.

"I would have voted your way. My French is a little rusty, I could have used the practice."

Lydie stood up in the front row, and flicked a piece of popcorn in their direction. "Be quiet, we're about to start the movie." The popcorn fell wildly short of hitting the mark, and landed in Gemma's hair. Gemma plucked it out of her hair, looked at it for a moment, then turned around and flicked it the rest of the way to Eli.

It landed in his lap, and he gave her a playful scowl. "Hey!" He was in a better mood already.

Lydie rolled her eyes, and hit the button to start the movie. "Seriously, be quiet. This is a good movie and I don't want anyone to miss it."

The movie was pretty good, but as soon as it was over and Eli was by himself in his room again, he was faced with reality again. He was frustratingly wide awake, and every possible bad scenario was flying through his head at warp speed.

His solution was to crawl in bed with his headphones in, and hope that the music would drown everything else out and bring him peace.

It didn't work, though. He found himself still awake at one in the morning, curled up with a pillow tucked under one arm as a shitty replacement for the one thing he couldn't have.

It was during times like this that it hit the hardest that she wasn't here. On a bad day, he could at least call her and hear her voice. Or crawl in bed with her and let her talk him out of whatever stupid shit he was thinking.

He pulled out his phone, and started scrolling through the voicemails he had saved, hoping that he might possibly have one from her still on his phone. After several minutes of scrolling, he stuck gold, and hit play.

"Hey babe. I just thought I'd call and check in on you. I hope you're sleeping right now, you need it. Shoot me a text when you wake up and let me know how you're doing. Take care of yourself. I love you."

He closed his eyes as her voice came out of the speakers of his phone, and let the sound of her voice saying the words he had desperately wanted to hear for over a year now wash over him.

It felt empty, though, knowing that this was just a recording, that if he texted her whoever had her phone number now would get it instead of her, and she was gone.

His finger hovered over the button to delete the voicemail for a moment, but instead he turned off his phone and tossed it on the nightstand. He would probably regret that later. He kind of regretted destroying most of his pictures now that a few weeks had passed.

Probably for the best that he had destroyed the pictures. That meant there wasn't much evidence. If Dad knew about her, he would be pissed. And now that he was threatening that Eli's actions would hurt other people, he couldn't afford to piss him off.

Eli buried his face in his hands. He just wanted a way to make it all stop for a little bit. He was sick of himself, sick of thinking, sick of being awake.

It only took him a moment to remember that he did have a solution to that problem. He climbed out of bed, and headed into the bathroom, turning on the light so he could see, and squinting against its brightness.

He brushed his hair back, and opened the cabinet, hunting for one thing in particular. At the back of the cabinet, he finally found the pill bottle. The prescription was dated from July of the previous year, but it was still almost full. Eli thought that he had only taken one or two in the time that he had had them.

That was about to change. He shook one out onto his palm, and swallowed it dry before screwing the cap back on the bottle and setting it down on the sink counter. The consequences for oversleeping were the farthest thing from his mind. He just wanted a break, and he didn't care if it took finally taking sleeping pills to do it.

He turned off the bathroom light, and went to lay down in bed. For all his resistance to taking them, he had to admit that the sleeping pills did their job, and did it well. He was out quickly, for once.

Maybe the sleeping pills did their job a little too well.

He woke up the next morning to someone shaking his shoulder, hard. He groaned, and buried his face in the pillows. "Surely it's not time to get up yet," he mumbled.

"It's nearly ten in the morning, you needed to be up two hours ago."

That was his father's voice. And it did a damn good job of getting rid of the desire to just go back to sleep. He immediately rolled over and sat up, pushing his messy, tangled hair out of his face. "I'm sorry." He ran a hand across his face. "I was up late working."

"Excuses, excuses." Dad shook a very familiar pill bottle in Eli's face. The pills didn't move around much, since there were so many of them left, but they still made a slight rattling noise as Dad shook it. "Care to explain this?"

"Sleeping pills," Eli said, making sure to keep eye contact with Dad, aware that he was playing a dangerous game, and one wrong move could lead to trouble.

"Trouble sleeping?" He asked condescendingly.

Eli nodded, just barely managing to keep himself from yawning.

"How are you going to be king if one death keeps you from sleeping at night?" He laughed. "You need to toughen up fast, son. You've always been too sensitive. Sometimes I wondered if you were really my kid, but the DNA test came back positive, so I'm stuck with you."

Eli fought off another yawn, but didn't say anything in reply. His eyes wanted to close again, but he forced himself to keep them open and stay awake. If he let on too much just how much he wanted to go back to sleep, Dad would get even more upset.

"We talked about this, didn't we? You knew what was going to happen if you didn't shape up."

Oh. Oh no. Shit. Shit. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

He didn't say anything, though. He didn't dare risk arguing.

"Get up. Get dressed."

Eli complied, and Dad waited outside the bathroom door while Eli did up the buttons of his shirt, trying not to wince every time he moved his left wrist too much. The sleeves covered the bruise, just barely, which was good. The last thing Eli wanted was awkward questions. He splashed cold water on his face in the hopes it would make him feel less groggy, finished getting dressed, and stepped out of the bathroom.

Dad silently escorted Eli through the halls, and led him into the room where Mel was happily playing on the floor with her nanny, Brea. As soon as he entered the room, Brea stood up. "What can I do for you, your majesty?"

Dad glanced down to the floor, at the plastic bricks Mel was playing with. "Take those away. Don't give them back for a week."

"Yes sir." Brea knelt and began sweeping them into a pile with her hands.

Mel stood up, folding her arms. It was kind of hilarious, how badly she wanted to look intimidating. "Why? What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything." Dad gestured towards Eli. "He's to blame. It's his fault that your toys are being taken away."

Dad was trying to get Mel to hate him. Eli should have expected that. Of course this would be what he would try. He so loved to try to turn his children against each other. Charles was living proof of that.

Mel didn't uncross her arms, and continued scowling at Dad. "That's silly. How is it his fault? You're just being a jerk." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Have more respect for your father," he said sternly. He turned to Brea. "Punish her harshly for her disrespect." He turned and left the room, gesturing for Eli to follow.

Eli did, but mouthed, "I'm sorry," to Mel before following.

In the hallway, Dad turned to Eli. "You see? Next time it won't be so mild. You've used up your one warning, and you need to step up. I'm only trying to make you the best you can be, because on your own you'll never reach your full potential."

You do this because you're a control freak, Eli thought to himself, but even before he would have dared to say that out loud. He wanted to go see Mom, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to get away with getting out of the palace today.

"I've already arranged it with Lindsey. The first of the group dates will take place today. You're going mini-golfing."

Eli stifled another yawn and nodded. "Okay. What time are we leaving?" He was going to be the picture perfect son. He owed it to Mel.

* * *

**AN: I'm as surprised to see a Jenn POV as you are, I didn't think that I'd write from her POV at any point during Roses in Ink. **

**Leave reviews and let me know what you think, I crave contact with people I don't live with.**


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